full-time musician. In February 2003, Paulini became a member of the Fijian band Mixx. She was one of the vocalists for the band alongside her sisters Litia and Sereima, as well as other vocalists Mansus Knight, Aporosa Vakanawa and Biannca Kotobalavu. Other members of Mixx included Ben Kotobalavu on drums, his brother Rowland on bass, Jona Uluinaceva and Henry Foon on keyboards, Apakuki Nayacakalou as the guitarist, and Rupeni Davui on percussion. The band played gigs around Sydney and were even invited to perform at the opening of the 2003 South Pacific Games in Fiji. Paulini recorded the anthem "Many Rhythms, One Love" for the South Pacific Games' official album, The Pacific at Its Best. She eventually left Mixx later that year to audition for the first season of Australian Idol. Music career 2003: Australian Idol and gold dress controversy In 2003, Paulini successfully auditioned for the first season of Australian Idol, and progressed through to the theatre rounds. Following the theatre round process, Paulini had advanced through to the semi-finals and eventually made it into the top twelve. Throughout the season, Paulini continued to impress the judges and viewers with her performances of songs by Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Thelma Houston, Toni Braxton and Etta James. In the final five-week, following her rendition of Destiny's Child's "Survivor", male judges Mark Holden and Ian Dickson were not impressed with the tight-fitted gold dress Paulini wore for the performance. Dicko commented on the dress saying "You should choose more appropriate clothes or shed some pounds", which resulted in a great deal of debate and controversy in the media relating to self-esteem and body image of teenage girls. After hearing Dicko's comments, Paulini went backstage and cried. In an interview with Woman's Day magazine, 11 years after the comment was made, Paulini stated "It affected me a lot and it really hurt my confidence." In the final four-week, Paulini was eliminated from the competition. According to a poll taken on Australian Idol, Paulini's elimination was the second most surprising elimination in the show's history. Nick Bond of News.com.au described Dicko's criticism of Paulini's gold dress as "one of the most controversial moments in Australian Idol history," while Andrew Bucklow from the same publication labelled it one of the show's "most infamous moments" ever. During Dicko's appearance on The Celebrity Apprentice Australia in 2012, he revealed that "people were virtually spitting on me"