Idols South Africa

Idols South Africa is a singing television competition created by Simon Fuller, it is the South African version of Pop Idol.

The show started airing on 10 March 2002 on M-Net but was later changed to Mzansi Magic.

The premise of the show is to determine the best young South African singer without a signed contract.

The winner is determined by a live vote across South Africa.

Presenters

The show was co-hosted by Candy Litchfield and Matthew Stewardson for the first half of season 1.

Midway through season 1, Matthew Stewardson was fired and replaced by Sami Sabiti who co-hosted the remainder of season 1 with Litchfield.

Colin Moss and Letoya Makhene co-hosted season 2.

Colin Moss hosted season 3 and season 4 alone.

Liezel van der Westhuizen hosted season 5 alone and co-hosted season 6 with ProVerb.

ProVerb has hosted every season since season 7.

Below is a table summarizing all the Idols South Africa presenters since season 1 in 2002.

Presenter Name	Seasons	Years
Candy Litchfield	1	2002
Matthew Stewardson	1	2002
Sami Sabiti	1	2002
Letoya Makhene	2	2003
Colin Moss	2, 3, 4	2003 – 2007
Liezel van der Westhuizen	5, 6	2009 – 2010
ProVerb	6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18	2010 – Present

Judges

The judges for the show include Marcus Brewster and Penny Lebyane for season one.

Dave Thompson for the first five seasons, Randall Abrahams for the first seventeen seasons and Marah Louw from season two to six.

Gareth Cliff from season two to twelve and Unathi Nkayi from season seven to seventeen.

Somizi Mhlongo from season eleven onwards.

Thembi Seete and JR from season eighteen onwards.

Below is a summary of all the Idols South Africa judges since season 1 in 2002.

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	2015 – Present
Thembi Seete	18	2022 –
JR Bogopa	18	2022 –

Season 1

---

Season 2

---

Season 3

---

Season 4

---

Season 5

---

Season 6

---

Season 7

---

Season 8

---

Season 9

---

Season 10

---

Season 11

---

Season 12

---

Season 13

---

Season 14

---

Season 15

---

Season 16

---

Season 17

---

Season 18

---

Idols SA Frequently Asked Questions

---

READ NEXT:

› Idols SA Viewership

› Australian Idol 2023 (Season 8) Auditions