Season 1
Season 1 was initially presented by Candy Litchfield and Matthew Stewardson, but Stewardson left the show due to a battle with drug addiction. He was replaced by Sami Sabiti.
Adutions were initially carried out in various cities in South Africa, with a final 12 being voted on. The four judges (Randall Abrahams, Dave Thompson, Marcus Brewster and Penny Lebyane) provided critiques for each contestant's performance.
Viewers had several hours following the broadcast to vote by phone, SMS or internet for their favourite contestant. On the following night's episode, the contestant(s) with the fewest votes was eliminated.
The Top 11 were (in order of elimination):
Rian Swanepoel
David Fourie
Nicole Billingham
Lyndle Kearns
Cindy Bester
Ayanda Nhlangothi
Ezra Lingeveldt
Biance Le Grange
Melanie Lowe
Brandon October
Heinz Winckler
Heinz was crowned the first winner of Idols on 17 June, 2002.