Credit: Disney/Eric McCandless
Published Feb 2, 2026, 10:00 PM EST
Lorianne Palinkas has been a reality television writer for Screen Rant for four years. After teaching middle school English for twenty years, she knows a thing or two about high drama, complicated alliances, and even singing competitions. Growing up in New York City gave her a solid foundation in the arts and culture.
American Idol season 24 contestant Sheldon Riley earned his golden ticket to Hollywood Week in Nashville, but this isn't his first time competing in a reality TV show. Sheldon, a 26-year-old singer-songwriter from Melbourne, Australia, impressed the judges, Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood, and Luke Bryan, with his stunning rendition of "Brother" by Matt Corby.
During his American Idol season 24 audition, Sheldon shared that he'd wanted to do music since he was a really young kid. When he was fifteen, he sang at school, and he loved the way that the applause made him feel. He admitted that, about ten years ago, he auditioned for a big show in Australia, and he was told that it wasn't enough, which made him doubt himself.
Therefore, Sheldon created a character who was avant-garde with high fashion that made people see him, not just in Australia, but around the world. However, when he came home and took that mask off, he hated the version of himself that he saw in the mirror.
Sheldon revealed that he took two years off, and now has returned to the stage on American Idol, where there's no smoke and mirrors. He just wanted to present himself to the judges. Lionel, Carrie, and Luke were blown away by Sheldon's talent, and gave him a golden ticket to Hollywood Week with three votes of yes. Sheldon confessed that he'd been judged by many important people in the past, but this was the first time that it really meant something because he wasn't playing a character, and it was really him that they liked. Here's where viewers might've seen Sheldon before.
American Idol Season 24's Sheldon Riley Has Competed In Many Reality TV Shows
During his American Idol season 24 audition, Sheldon revealed that he'd been on many reality TV shows in the past. Sheldon was a contestant in The X Factor Australia season 8 in 2016, in which he participated in the 14-21s category, mentored by American Idol season 8 runner-up Adam Lambert. He was eliminated as a solo artist during the bootcamp stage of the competition, but he returned when Iggy Azalea, the mentor of the Groups category, chose him to be part of a new boy band made up of eliminated solo acts, called Time and Place. They were selected as one of Iggy Azalea's three acts, but they were eliminated in the first week of the live shows.
In 2018, Sheldon competed in The Voice Australia season 7. He received a four-chair turn, and chose Boy George as his coach. Sheldon made it to the finale of the show, during which he placed third. In 2019, Sheldon returned to The Voice Australia season 8 for its all-stars season. He received chair turns from both coaches who didn't have full teams, Delta Goodrem and Guy Sebastian, and picked Delta to be his coach. Sheldon was eliminated during the semi-final of the season.
The following year, in 2020, Sheldon competed in America's Got Talent season 15. However, he was eliminated in the third quarter-final. In 2021, Sheldon was a participant in Eurovision - Australia Decides, competing with his song "Not the Same." He won the show with 100 points, and went on to represent Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, during which he placed 15th.
In 2022, Sheldon was the runner-up in The Masked Singer Australia season 4, competing as Snapdragon. In 2024, he competed in America's Got Talent: Fantasy League on Mel B's team. The studio audience voted him into the semi-finals after the first round, but he was eliminated during his semi-final episode.
Sheldon Has Released Several Singles
In addition to his reality TV appearances, Sheldon has released several singles. They include "Fire" (2018), "More Than I" (2020), "Left Broken" (2021), "Again" (2021), "Never Enough" (2022), and "Insane" (2023). However, Sheldon is best known for 2022's "Not the Same," which was released on February 15, 2022, and is about his experiences as a person with autism. "Not the Same" was the song that he sang during the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 after he won Eurovision - Australia Decides with it. It debuted at number 3 on the Australian Independent Label Singles chart.
With his beautiful voice and emotional performance, Sheldon proved that he doesn't need a fancy costume to move audiences. Instead, he made quite an impression with his honesty and by being true to himself. If Sheldon continues on this path, he could win American Idol season 24.
American Idol airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Sources: The Voice Australia/YouTube, Eurovision Song Contest/YouTube
Release Date March 11, 2018
English (US) ·