Now that we are just days away from the highly-anticipated arrival of Idols SA season 19, which marks the final bow for the iconic singing competition, we ought to look back at the show’s cultural impact. The farewell season arrives on 18 July at 18:00, on Mzansi Magic. And to spread the love of music all over the land, the show will also be airing episodes from 19:30 on Mzansi Wethu.

With that in mind, there’s a lot to celebrate. For 18 seasons, the popular television series has unearthed hidden musical talents, many who went on to become titans of the music industry. For these 10 musical superstars, their breakthroughs led to meteoric ascensions and long-lasting, fruitful careers.

Khaya Mthethwa

It’s almost impossible to imagine that there was ever a time when Khaya Mthethwa was not a household name. Splashed all over the media as a respected media personality, Mthethwa’s music career has yielded lofty outcomes. The 35-year-old singer, songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist, has built a career backed by longevity.

Mthethwa became the first black artist to win the show in it’s 8th season. He went on to make waves as part of Joyous Celebration. The SAMA award-winning star has released four albums, namely For You (2012), The Uprising (2014), The Dawn (2016), as well as All About Jesus (2018).

Mthethwa also boasts credits as a choirmaster on the first season of Clash of The Choirs South Africa. He has also hosted and appeared on a number of successful television shows.

Amanda Black

Despite hovering powerhouse vocals that constantly inspired raw emotion and viewers on season 11 of Idols SA, Amanda Black went only made it to the Top 7. However, the 29-year-old’s success testified that victories don’t always follow a manual. After garnering solid public support and fan-fare for his breathtaking talent, Black went on to ink a record deal.

It wasn’t long before she leverage her fanbase into a blockbuster music career. Her debut album Amazulu, released in 2016, propelled her to massive commercial success. The critically lauded project helped the singer to win a number of prestigious awards, run up the record sales and become a household name. She has since added two more albums, the acclaimed Power in 2019, as well as Mnyama in 2021.

Shekhinah

Hailing from Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, Shekhinah remains one of biggest success stories in the Idols SA universe. She bowed out of the show in the Top 6 on the show’s 8th season. Having cruised with her mesmerising talents in the weeks prior, Shekhinah’s exit stunned many viewers.

Real name Shekhinah Thandi Donnell, the 'Suited' hitmaker waited for no grass. In 2015, she released her first major hit ‘Back To The Beach’ with fellow Idols SA contestant, Kyle Deutsch.

The song’s popularity accelerated Shekhinah’s rise, which she fuelled with the releases of other major hits, such as Let You Know and Suited. Shekhinah solidified her star power with the release of her debut studio album Rose Gold, which landed in 2017. Her sophomore album, Trouble In Paradise, arrived in May 2021.

LLoyiso

Loyiso Gijana has been around for so long that it’s hard to believe that he is still only 22. Monomously known as Lloyiso, the singer first shot to fame as a contestant on the 11th season of Idols SA. Aged just 16 at the time, the ‘Nontsikelelo’ hitmaker made it all the way to the Top 5 of the show.

These days, LLoyiso is in the process of carving out an international career. He famously inked a record deal with Universal Music Group South Africa and Republic Records in the US. His performance at Brooklyn Beckham’s wedding sparked global interest in the singer in 2022. In March this year, Lloyiso released his EP ‘Seasons’, which contains a slew of love ballads and his #1 hit of the same title.

Elvis Blue

Elvis Blue is massive! The winner of Idols SA season 6 has gone out to pack crowds in more than 133 live performances a year, 3 platinum and one gold-selling albums, as well as a catalog of chart-topping Afrikaans bangers. Elvis, who decided to share his prize money with first runner up Lloyd Cele after winning in his season, is considered one of the best-selling artists in South Africa.

He boasts three albums; the self-titled Elvis Blue, which was released in 2010, Journey (2012), as well as Afrikaans in 2013.

Q Twins

The Durban outfit has become one of the most sought-after acts from Durban. Twin sisters, Virginia and Viggy Qwabe first entered the scene on Idols SA season 16. The sisters made it all to the Top 10. However, following Virginia’s departure, Viggy decided to leave the show.

The 22-year-old soon inked a record deal with Afrotainment and collaborated with DJ Tira on the song ‘Hamba’. Also knowns as Q-Twins, the ladies have pumped up an impressive catalogue of popular bops in a short space of time. In November 2022, they released their EP, Words of Hope.

Musa

Musa Sukwene has not looked back since leaving Witbank to find his dreams in Johannesburg. The 36-year-old trounced all competition to win the 11th season of Idols SA back in 2013. By the end of that year, he’d been signed to be represented by About Entertainment.

The following Sukwene’s big landing. He released his debut album Dream in 2014, which he followed with the arrival of his sophomore album Mr Serious in 2016. The latter achieved massive commercial success, and has been reported to have reached triple platinum with sales topping 90 000. Sukwene has since released two more albums, the self-titled Musa in 2018, and then Backroom in 2022.

Kyle Deutsch

There was a time when Kyle Deutsch, Shekhinah and Sketchy Bongo gave us the creative trinity and musical Durban tribe we never knew we needed. After finishing 5th on season 11 of the show, Deutsch went on to spread his wings in the music business and elsewhere. The Durbanite has given us such hits as ‘Back To the Beach’, ‘Alive’ with Cassper Nyovest, and ‘Can’t Get Enough’.

When he’s not making his stacks in the chiropractic practice, or playing football, Kyle is working on his long-awaited debut album.

Karabo Mogane

Karabo met his destiny with fame after emerging as the winner of Idols SA season 11. Mogane leveraged his popularity into a successful career as a recording artist and went on to become a household name. In 2015, the R&B singer released his debut album, an 11-track project titled Love is a Verb.

Heinz Winckler

Hunky Heinz became the first ever winner of Idols South Africa. For that reason alone, he will always be famous.

There’s more, however, that has solidified Heinz Winckler’s illustrious music and entertainment career. His debut album, Once In A Lifetime, went double platinum and sold over 100 000 copies. That was before he even released his debut album, One Step Closer.

Now that we are just days away from the highly-anticipated arrival of Idols SA season 19, which marks the final bow for the iconic singing competition, we ought to look back at the show’s cultural impact. The farewell season arrives on 18 July at 18:00, on Mzansi Magic. And to spread the love of music all over the land, the show will also be airing episodes from 18:30 on Mzansi Wethu.

With that in mind, there’s a lot to celebrate. For 18 seasons, the popular television series has unearthed hidden musical talents, many who went on to become titans of the music industry. For these 10 musical superstars, their breakthroughs led to meteoric ascensions and long-lasting, fruitful careers.

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