The year 2003 was a major one for Paulini.

It started with Paulini being asked to sing the anthem for the 2003 South Pacific games and having the song recorded on the CD that was produced from the Games entertainment. That CD went on to sell well and become a favourite in the Pacific region.

Immediately after this gig Paulini performed her first audition for the new Australian Idol television show. She passed the first audition stages and was then sent to strut her stuff in front of Marcia, Mark and Dicko. All three judges were blown away by this talented youngster and she went on to perform flawlessly throughout the competition. Paulini reached 4th place before failing to obtain enough votes to get through to the next round. This shocked the majority of viewers after her stunning performance of “At Last” and “Almost Like Being in Love” the week before.

But Paulini didn’t let her failure to win another  TV Talent show hold her back!

After leaving the show Paulini found herself in high demand and appeared at a number of live events around Australia and in televised productions. She returned to her “roots” with a guest appearance on the 2003 Schools Spectacular where she reprised her song Somewhere which was bigger and better than ever. She then blew everyone way with a blistering rendition of the old gospel classic “Operator” at the Melbourne Carols in the Domain which was televised across Australia.

Later that year, she travelled to New Zealand and thrilled her many fans in that country performing at the Pasifika Festival. She also performed numerous gigs right across Australia. At times it was hard to keep up with exactly where she was, especially as there was often no publicity at all about her performances. Paulini capped off a stunning year with her much acclaimed performance at the New Year’s Eve Mayor’s party on the magnificent Sydney Harbour which was also televised around Australia.