Damien Leith (30), from Milltown, Co Kildare, is now among the final nine contestants and one of the favourites in the competition, the winner of which will walk away with a record deal and instant fame.

"It's very exciting for us, " his mother Angela Leith told the Sunday Tribune. "We can't believe how far he's got. It's also extremely nerve-wracking for everyone here. Our lives now revolve around Sundays."

Leith has been living in Sydney for the last three years since marrying Australian-born Eileen.

The couple have a baby son, Jarvis, and Leith is a chemist with a pharmaceutical firm there. The second-eldest of four children, he was involved in music since his teenage years, when he and his siblings Paul, Aine and Darren set up their own band, Leaf. They had some success, reaching the top 100 charts and being signed by an American record label which took them to the US. However, the deal fell through and Leith returned to Ireland disillusioned with the music scene.

"Damien has always loved music and songwriting, and it was his songs that they sang when they were in the band, " said Angela. "When it all turned sour and they came home, they decided to go their separate ways and concentrate instead on their careers. But I'm not surprised he got back into it; music has always been his life.

"He always said that if he got to the final 12 in this competition, he would be happy, but now that he's down to nine, our nerves are really on edge. It would be amazing if he won it."

Australian Idol is the Down Under version of Simon Cowell's Pop Idol, which catapulted Will Young, Gareth Gates and Michelle McManus to instant, if not necessarily lasting, stardom.

Angela says Damien is already being recognised on the streets of Sydney and is coming to terms with his new-found fame.

"The hardest thing is that being on the show is taking him away from Eileen and the baby, " she said. "But he's being really well looked after and the people in the show are always making sure Eileen is okay and checking in with her."

Angela and her husband Paul have set up a web-cam on their computer so they can watch the show live every Sunday at 10.30am Irish time. "Sometimes the reception is dreadful, but you need to know you're watching it as it happens, " she said. "All the family and neighbours come around and we all crowd in to watch it. It's a pity it's on so early or we could all be enjoying a glass of wine with it."

Unlike the original Pop Idol, however, the producers of Australian Idol allow 24 hours for the public votes, meaning Paul and Angela are back at the computer on Monday mornings to hear the results. "That's the worst part, they drag it out for so long, " she said. "We've never been as excited and nervous as this. I thought that when he got to the final, that would nearly be the end of it, but it's just the beginning. At least, we hope so."