by Thinus Ferreira
The 16th season of the reality singing competition show Idols will start on Sunday, 2 August, on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) at 17:30 and will look as always for the audition episodes filmed earlier this year although the production has also been impacted in 2020 by the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, as is everything in South Africa's TV and film industry.
"Mzansi Magic is proud to continue to provide a platform for new stars to be discovered and for talent to be unearthed," says Nomsa Philiso, director of local entertainment channels at M-Net.
"This year's Idols, dubbed 'Sweet 16', will be ‘more than just a show’. This should set the stage for our contestants and the show to reach new highs."
Back are the three Idols judges Randall Abrahams, Unathi Nkayi and Somizi Mhlongo.
Idols will start by showing the nationwide auditions that took place and that were filmed in Cape Town, Pretoria, Durban and Johannesburg before the national Covid-19 lockdown period started.
"As we turn 16, your living room will, from this Sunday, transform into front row seats of the biggest entertainment spectacle, enough to make you forget about your lockdown woes," says Gavin Wratten, executive producer and director of SIC Entertainment.
In a statement Mzansi Magic and Idols says that "All the requisite health guidelines will be put in place ahead of all the live shows, and the cast and crew will ensure that social distancing, sanitising of hands and venues with adequate ventilation will be used for this year’s showpiece."
TVwithThinus spoke with Gavin Wratten about this year's 16th season.
How will Idols be different for the 16th season?
Gavin Wratten: The first and foremost thing is that Idols is all about the contestants.
Every year the contestants and their stories are what makes the show different. One thing that we had done differently is that we introduced online auditions this year and we had such a huge response - it was amazing.
From a talent point of view we've been really, really lucky. We've actually had a record-number of golden tickets handed out for Theatre Week. So talent-wise it's going to be really, really impressive.
Were you surprised by how well people would send in auditions and what was the quality?
Gavin Wratten: The reason we did online auditions is because we always get people asking "Why did you come to our city?" and it's just that it's financially impossible to travel and to go to every city in the country.
So that's why we did it. But also we knew that it could generate a huge response, so we actually made the online auditions very, very simple. All that people had to do was send in a verse and a chorus of a song and just fill in some data about themselves and how they can be contacted. They didn't have to do much more than just sing.
We had thousands and thousands of entries. We weren't too worried about what it looked like or how interesting it was. We really just wanted to hear the auditions and we then chose the best to come and see the judges. Then we told their story once they were on the set.
Until where did the 16th season get to when the Covid-19 shutdown started? Until when will it still look "normal" or familiar to how viewers used to see Idols on TV?
Gavin Wratten: Actually Idols is going to look pretty normal all the way through on Mzansi Magic.
What happened is that we shot all of the major crowds. All of the nationwide auditions were finished, but not everybody had seen the judges.
It's interesting because we've got some episodes where we filmed all of the crowds and people seeing the judges, and then other episodes where we've got the crowds but then we got shut down because of Covid-19 and then we had to wait until lockdown was over and then we filmed their auditions before the judges.
The only difference really that people are going to see is that we've put social distancing screens up on the judges' desk. In front of camera you don't see much difference, but it's obviously all of the stuff behind-the-scenes - the screening, the sanitising, the social distancing - the stuff that you don't really see on camera.
Viewers watching Idols on Mzansi Magic are not going to see a much of difference.
When did you realise that Covid-19 is no longer just a China-related and international news story but will really practically impact what you do this year and Idols and your business?
Gavin Wratten: Funny enough, when it started happening, we had filmed some of the mass auditions already. We shot the crowds and then as a team we sat and said "you know what, this is something that could become a problem".
We started putting in processes in where we're santising even before it became the norm. So we actually started quite early.
As a business it affected everybody. When we travelled, when we transported contestants we used to do them in busses, now we can't do that and can't have that many people, so lots of smaller vehicles with few people in them.
So our transport costs have gone up, accommodation costs have gone up because we used to get people to share during Theatre Week, now we can't do that. So, those practical things have been challenging but the ability for people to sing and making a show has not changed.
Mzansi Magic's sister channel kykNET's had to take a break for the second season of its Maak My Famous talent search show done from GrandWest casino in Cape Town and postponed it for a while and is starting again from 8 August but shows won't have a live audience anymore. Is it possible yet to say how Idols might play out when it gets to the live Sunday performances or are you waiting until closer to the time?
Gavin Wratten: We've done a couple of scenarios and worked out what we would do in different circumstances but I think it is too early to make a decision.
The lockdown levels, rules and circumstances are changing sometimes on a weekly basis. We thought that we can't come up with a scenario for every single possible situation.
We've got some ideas and we are waiting to see what happens and then closer to the time we will implement whichever one suits what the South African government's lockdown measures are by then.
Does Idols get overseas directives saying "you must do this, you must do that", or suggestions, for instance what from American Idol's last season that readjusted and ended during Covid-19 with remote performances will Idols maybe incorporate into the 16th season of Idols?
Gavin Wratten: Every year we keep in contact with Fremantle anyway as the format holders. We normalle deal with the British producers because that is where Fremantle is based.
We have had discussions with them as to what people in different countries are doing. What everybody realise is that every country is different and the situation is different.
We told them about a couple of ideas that we want to implement and they've liked our suggestions and they make suggestions about what other people are doing. But we've all agreed with Fremantle in the United Kingdom that we'll wait and see and as we get closer, we'll all agree on what we're going to do.
When Zoom exploded and online grocery ordering and delivery, I thought of Idols because you already have this huge second-screen engagement with your audience - they watch and vote and comment.
In a sense Idols was a precursor to the times, it already created this community that exists from a distance but also closely in real-time through their phones. Every year you get higher and higher votes and interactive engagement. Do you think this will grow and expand further this year as people stay home more, and more people buy data? How do you think audience interaction might evolve further this season?
Gavin Wratten: Primarily our platform is Mzansi Magic and it will stay that way.
Every year we produce and introduce new social media elements around it, and depending again on what happens around the national lockdown situation in South Africa, we will look at maybe introducing more social media within the show itself.
All of it depends on the lockdown and what level of lockdown and what the rules and regulations are around that. We're always looking for innovative ways to include the audiences in as many ways as possible.
Idols season 16 starts on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) on Sunday 2 August 2020 at 17:30
