M-Net looks back at the Idols phenomenon once week before the 9th season starts with a retrospective doccie, The Incredible Journey.

Before the start of the 9th season of Idols on the M-Net and Mzansi Magic channels next Sunday, M-Net (DStv 101) has a a retrospective local documentary of the reality show today at 18:00 entitled The Incredible Journey.

The Incredible Journey looks at how Idols became a pop cultural phenomenon, the various changes the reality show underwent during the past 8 seasons, the impact the show has had on the local South African music industry and how it's transformed the lives of some of the contestants.

The Incredible Journey includes interviews with people like Loyiso, Danny K, Tamara Dey and the Idols judges. Some previous Idols winners including previous Top 10 contestants will also talk about how Idols changed their lives.

Idols will also look back today with historic archive footage of the winning moments of different Idols' seasons as well as Heinz Winckler impressing Simon Cowell at the World Idol competition.

"The Incredible Journey is a must-see for Idols fans,music lovers and anyone who has ever wondered about the success of Idols," says Lani Lombard, M-Net's head of communications. "It shares some amazing facts and figures which are a real eye=opened in terms of the magnitude and impact of the show."