The eighth season of South Africa’s biggest television talent competition, Idols SA, hits the airwaves on Sunday, 3 June, at 17:30, with judges Gareth Cliff, Unathi Msengana and Randall Abrahams arriving at the first auditions in style, ready to search for that one elusive superstar who will be South Africa’s next Idol.

Idols SA is a co-production between M-Net and Mzansi Magic this season and on all the Sundays in June, viewers of both these channels will see how the search took the judges from Sandton and Soweto in Gauteng to the sunny shores of Durban, where they encountered a thrilling batch of new contestants – the good, the bad, and the tragically misguided!

The Johannesburg auditions, which took place in Soweto and at the Sandton Convention Centre, will be the focus of this Sunday’s show, while the auditions at Ushaka Marine World in Durban will take centre stage on Sunday, 10 June and the Cape Town auditions at the Table Bay Hotel on Sunday, 17 June. The highlights of the audition tour will be screened on Sunday, 24 June.

“Viewers can look forward to the most spectacular and entertaining Idols auditions to date,” says M-Net Communications Manager, Lani Lombard. “The backdrops of the venues bring an extra dimension to the series, adding more drama to the already high-tension surroundings and it’s evident right from the start that the variety of contestants are adamant to live the Idols dream. Everybody wants to be the next Idol, so be prepared to experience all the emotional ups and downs as the contestants receive their Golden Ticket or get those honest opinions from the judges!”

But who will it be? Two contestants who have already received some media attention are Rethabile Khumalo and Dumi Masilela. The 17-year old Rethabile Khumalo, who believes music is her destiny, is the the daughter of AfroPop legend Winnie Khumalo, so music runs in her blood. Multi-talented 23-year-old soccer star, Dumi Masilela, who sees no conflict in a dual soccer and singing career, has been praised for his talent and charm.

Apart from being screened on M-Net and Mzansi Magic, Idols will also be available on other platforms. From Sunday, 3 June, DStv viewers can enjoy more of the auditions on the dedicated 24/7 Idols Extra channel (channel 199) and all the auditions will be loaded on the official Idols website: www.mnet.co.za/idols. DStv’s mobile users can a be enjoyed Idols SA on their Drifta of Walka and DStv On Demand offers the shows for its PC users.

Fans can also visit the Facebook page for Season 8 of Idols at “Idols South Africa”, or tweet on Twitter @IdolsSA.