"what's that, some kinda nazi word?"

In news that will surprise no-one, while bringing gleeful pangs of schadenfreude to many, pseudo-punk wank-stain Lee Harding from the 2005 season of Australian Idol has been dropped by his record company.

I know what you're all thinking: WHO?! Cast your minds back - he was the one with stupid tufts of brightly-coloured hair and chains hanging from his hips, who thought that punk meant eyeliner, and that 'Tainted Love' was a song by The Living End. He inflicted that turd of a song 'Wasabi' upon our once-proud nation, and then basically disappeared back to Frankston. Well, now that you remember him, you can forget him again - just like Sony BMG did.

The Herald Sun has the story:

Sony BMG has dumped one-time Australian Idol contestant Lee Harding after weeks during which the singer's phone calls and emails to the recording giant went unanswered.

The Frankston funkster's limbo over the label's commitment to his second album ended last week with a letter advising it would not take up the option to release a follow-up to his gold-selling debut, What's Wrong with This Picture.

As much as I'm glad we won't be audio-assaulted with further output from Harding, I do feel a little sorry for the boy. He was clearly always too dumb to realise he was just a flavour-of-the-moment with eleven year-olds, and that they would forget all about him once puberty set in. I think he honestly believed he'd have a long and flourishing career, poor sod.

This kind of news must really perk up the spirits of the current batch of Idol contestants, who will be hitting our screens soon (and forgotten forever approximately 18 months after that).