Saturday's Johannesburg auditions for the 15th season of Idols on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) that took place at the Ellis Park Arena saw contestants travel from other provinces, arriving and queuing from the night before, ready for their moment in the spotlight in front of the judges - even wearing Pokemon slippers.
Ipeleng Ngake (16) was first in line on Saturday with the Grade 9 pupil who got to Ellis Park at 05:00 on Friday morning - the day before the auditions - driving all the way from Bloemhof in the North West province.
Ipeleng Ngake auditioned for the first time, singing Ed Sheeran's "Thinking out Loud".
"I love to sing and I couldn't wait to turn 16 so that I can enter the competition," she said.
Idols, a Fremantle format show produced by [SIC] Entertainment with co-executive producers Gavin Wratten and ProVerb (Tebogo Thekisho who is also the presenter), is fresh off another record-breaking season, fueling ongoing surging interest from ordinary South Africans in the 15th season set for broadcast on Mzansi Magic later this year.
Gcobani Matiyase (25) from Alexandra also queued on Saturday, also for his first time to audition for Idols. The sales consultant also joined the long line from 19:00 the previous night, with his friend, and slept in the line to sing Rihanna's "Take a Bow" for the Idols judges the next day.
Pilusa (right), also known as "Nkupi The Entertainer" was Superman when he auditioned in the 14th season of Idols.
He returned on Saturday as "The Diva", dressed in Pokemon slippers. Pilusa (25) from Seshego is a student and entertainer.
Morgan Trevelyan (26) on Saturday did her 7th audition for Idols.
The mother of a 3-year old from Randburg is a DJ and owns a T-Shirt printing company.
"I have never made it any further in the competition, and with my love for music, I would like to get to the top 16," said Morgan Trevelyan.
She sang "The Cup Song" from the film Pitch Perfect for the Idols judges.
