| Idols South Africa | |
|---|---|
| Season 1 | |
| Hosted by | Candy Litchfield Sami Sabitiin Matthew Stewardson |
| Judges | Dave Thompson Marcus Brewster Penny Lebyane Randall Abrahams |
| Winner | Heinz Winckler |
| Runner-up | Brandon October |
| Finals venue | Vodaworld |
| Release | |
| Original network | MNet |
| Original release | 10 March – 17 June 2002 |
| Season chronology | |
Idols South Africa I was the first season of South African reality interactive talent show based on the British talent show Pop Idol. It started as the second international spin-off of the original series just days after the first Idol season in Poland. However, as it ended earlier the winner Heinz Winckler is the second Idol winner after the original Pop Idol Will Young.
Simon Cowell, judge of the original series was guest judging during the theater round when the Top 50 was chosen.[1] The remaining contestants where then split in 10 groups of 5 where the most vote getter would move on to the top 10. However, due to a voting error during the first group's voting, Melanie Lowe, who closely trailed Brandon October, was saved by the producers, resulting in the top 11 instead.
In the beginning the show was hosted by Matthew Stewardson and Candy Litchfield. However halfway through the season Stewardson was axed and replaced by Sami Sabitiin. Soon after that Stewardson checked himself into a rehab center.[2] The show saw a tragic incident when the programme's main photographer suddenly died during the competition.[3] In the course of the season complaints about the results of votings and technical problems became loud and created a mistrust from the audience which eventually lasted over the upcoming seasons.[4]