Idols SA Judges From Season 1 to 19

Here are all the Idols SA judges from Season 1 to 19, both current and previous.

Summary

Judge Name	Seasons	Years
Dave Thompson	1, 2, 3, 4, and 5	2002 – 2009
Marcus Brewster	1	2002
Randall Abrahams	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17	2002 – 2021
Penny Lebyane	1	2002
Marah Louw	2, 3, 4, 5 and 6	2003 – 2010
Gareth Cliff	2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12	2003 – 2016
Unathi Nkayi	7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17	2011 – 2021
Somizi Mhlongo	11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19	2015 – 2023
Thembi Seete	18, and 19	2022 – 2023
JR Bogopa	18, and 19	2022 – 2023

Current Judges

Somizi Mhlongo

Somizi Mhlongo is a current judge on Idols SA alongside fellow judges Thembi Seete and JR.

He was added to the judges’ panel in 2015 at the beginning of season eleven.

Mhlongo was revealed at the first Idols auditions in Pretoria on 31 January 2015.

Thembi Seete

Thembi Seete is a current judge on Idols South Africa alongside JR and the long-serving Somizi Mhlongo.

JR Bogopa

JR is a current judge on Idols South Africa alongside Somizi Mhlongo and Thembi Seete.

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Former Judges

Randall Abrahams

Randall Abrahams was a judge on Idols South Africa for seventeen consecutive seasons since season 1 in 2002.

Unathi Nkayi

Unathi Nkayi was a judge on Idols South Africa for eleven consecutive seasons, from season 7 to 17.

She was added to the judging panel in 2011 when she replaced Marah Louw.

Dave Thompson

Dave Thompson was a judge on Idols SA for five seasons which are: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

He was actually there in the inaugural season back in 2002 with fellow judges Randall Abrahams, Marcus Brewster, and Penny Lebyane.

Penny Lebyane

Penny Lebyane was a judge on Idols SA season 1 in 2002.

Making up the female component of the Idols SA judging panel, she worked alongside fellow judges Dave Thompson, Marcus Brewster, and Randall Abrahams.

Marcus Brewster

Marcus Brewster was a judge on Idols South Africa for just one season, season 1 in 2002.

He worked alongside fellow judges Randall Abrahams, Penny Lebyane, and Dave Thompson.

Marah Louw

Marah Louw was a judge on Idols SA for five seasons, these are seasons 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 (from 2003 – 2010).

After she left the show, she was replaced by Unathi Nkayi.

Gareth Cliff

Gareth Cliff is a South African radio and television personality, he was a judge on Idols SA for eleven consecutive seasons, these are seasons 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12.

So now that you’ve seen all the Idols SA judges from Season 1 to 17, kindly tell us who your favorite judges have been over the years, you can do this by using the comment box below.

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Female Idols South Africa judges

Below is a list of all females who have been judges on Idols South Africa.

• Penny Lebyane (2002)
• Marah Louw (2003 – 2010)
• Mynie Grové (2006 on Idols Afrikaans Season 1)
• Unathi Nkayi (2011 – 2021)
• Thembi Seete (2022 – 2023)

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