Mark Holden

Mark Holden was one of the major judges in Australian Idol from its inception in 2003 until he was controversially dumped from the show at the end of the 2007 season, largely due to his treatment of contestant Tarisai Vushe, who he called "fake", leading to her eviction that night. Mark Holden was also criticised for trying to control who people voted for, by giving "touchdowns" (or not) and saying such things as who he wanted to win and who he wanted to come runner up. His use of the term "touchdown", which relates to American Football (also known as Grid Iron), a sport which is not readily played outside of the US, and insults Australia's culture by being mentioned (as opposed to "goal" or "try", from Australian sports), has also drawn great criticism.

Mark Holden had a moderate career as a singer and has also been a producer of note. He is known to be highly influential.