The sixteenth season of South African Idols premiered on 2 August 2020, 17:30 SAST and concluded on 13 December 2020 on the Mzansi Magic television network. The season was won by Zama Khumalo and the runner-up was Mr Music.
Finalists ContestantAgeHometownPlace finished Zama Khumalo 43 Witbank, Mpumalanga Winner Mr Music 42 KwaMbonambi, KwaZulu-Natal Runner-up Brandon Dhludhlu 34 Barberton, Mpumalanga 3rd ZanoThando Ngxito 103 Rustenburg, North West 4th Ndoni Mseleku 22 Johannesburg, Gauteng 5th Ntokozo Mvelase 21 Kagiso, Gauteng 6th Bongi Mntambo 25 Welkom, Free State 7th Jooma Mize 26 Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape 8th Be Mohutsiwa 26 Bloemfontein, Free State 9th Succedor Zitha 22 Waterval Boven, Mpumalanga 10th Dee Mayekane 25 Khayelitsha, Western Cape 11th-13th Jerodine Madlala 27 KwaMashu, KwaZulu-Natal Melanin Zwane 21 Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal Ethan Norris 26 Roodepoort, Gauteng 14th-16th Qhawe Mahlangu 23 KwaThema, Ekurhuleni Zahn-Reece Malgas 24 Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng
Weekly Song Choice and Result
Top 16
Boys (20 September) +ActOrderSongResult ZanoThando Ngxito1"I Got a Woman" by Ray CharlesSafe Jooma Mize2"Always and Forever" by HeatwaveWild Card Zahn-Reece3"Superstar" by Luther VandrossEliminated Ethan Norris4"Feeling Good" by Nina SimoneEliminated Succedor Zitha5"Emotion" by Destiny's ChildSafe Mr Music6"All I Could Do Was Cry" by Etta JamesSafe Brandon Dhludhlu7"Dancing On My Own" by Calum ScottSafe Qhawe Mahlangu8"Try a Little Tenderness" by Otis ReddingEliminated
Girls (27 September) +ActOrderSongResult Jerodine Madlala1"Something He Can Feel" by Aretha FranklinEliminated Melanin Zwane2"True Colors" by Cyndi LauperEliminated Bongi Mntambo3"All the Man That I Need" by Whitney HoustonSafe Ndoni Mseleku4"Fast Car" by Tracy ChapmanWild Card Dee Mayekane5"Rolling in the Deep " by AdeleEliminated Be Mohutsiwa6"How Come You Don't Call Me" by Alicia KeysSafe Ntokozo Mvelase7"I'd Rather Go Blind" by Etta JamesSafe Zama Khumalo8"Crazy" by SealSafe
Top 10 (11 October) +ActOrderSongResult Brandon Dhludhlu1"Oh, Freedom" by Odetta HolmesSafe Ndoni Mseleku2"Ungayeki" by Brenda MtamboSafe ZanoThando Ngxito3"Superwoman" by Alicia KeysSafe Zama Khumalo4"A Change Is Gonna Come" by Sam CookeSafe Mr Music5"Iqhawe" by SjavaSafe Be Mohutsiwa6"Make It Happen" by Mariah CareySafe Jooma Mize7"River" by Leon BridgesSafe Ntokozo Mvelase8"Never Alone" by Tori KellySafe Succedor Zitha9"Higher Ground" by Stevie WonderEliminated Bongi Mntambo10"Spirit" by BeyoncéSafe
Top 9 (18 October) +ActOrderSongResult Jooma Mize1"Madoda Sabelani" by Loyiso GijanaSafe Bongi Mntambo2"Stand Up" by Cynthia ErivoSafe Ndoni Mseleku3"Ndizele Wena" by Amanda BlackSafe Be Mohutsiwa4"Boo'd Up" by Ella MaiEliminated ZanoThando Ngxito5"Price To Pay" by Miss Pru feat. Blaq DiamondSafe Ntokozo Mvelase6"Happiness" by Kelly KhumaloSafe Brandon Dhludhlu7"Sorry" by Justin BieberSafe Zama Khumalo8"Say So" by Doja CatSafe Mr Music9"Into Ingawe" by Sun-El Musician feat. Ami FakuSafe
Top 8 (25 October) +ActOrderSongResult Bongi Mntambo1"Ngiyak'uthanda" by Zandie KhumaloSafe Mr Music2"Ngempela" by Sjava feat. DJ Maphorisa & HowardSafe Zama Khumalo3"Finally" by ThabsieSafe Brandon Dhludhlu4"Angsakwazi" by MusaSafe Jooma Mize5"Lady Lady" by MasegoEliminated ZanoThando Ngxito6"NaLingi" by Manu WorldStarSafe Ntokozo Mvelase7"Focus" by H.E.R.Safe Ndoni Mseleku8"Inyanga" by CiciSafe
Top 7: Showstoppers (1 November) +ActOrderSongResult Zama Khumalo1"This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris feat. RihannaSafe Mr Music2"Woza My Love" by Blaq DiamondSafe Ndoni Mseleku3"Already" by Beyoncé feat. Shatta Wale & Major LazerSafe Bongi Mntambo4"Déjà Vu" by Beyoncé feat. Jay-ZEliminated Brandon Dhludhlu5"Circles" by Post MaloneSafe ZanoThando Ngxito6"Loyal" by Chris Brown feat. Lil Wayne & TygaSafe Ntokozo Mvelase7"Break My Heart" by Dua LipaSafe
Top 6 (8 November) +ActOrderSongOrderSongResult Ntokozo Mvelase 1"Upside Down" by Diana Ross7"Long As I Live" by Toni BraxtonEliminated Mr Music2"Remember Me" by Lucky Dube8"Ngaqonywa" by Aubrey QwanaSafe ZanoThando Ngxito3"Mmatswale" by Caiphus Semenya9"Mmatswale" by MalaikaSafe Ndoni Mseleku4"Khawuleza" by Bra Hugh Masekela10"Ungowami" by Ami FakuSafe Brandon Dhludhlu5"Sweet Lady" by Tyrese Gibson11"Ubala" by Simmy feat. Sun-El MusicianSafe Zama Khumalo6"Wedding Day" by Mzansi feat. Brenda Fassie12"Everything I Wanted" by Billie EilishSafe
Top 5: Theatre Week (15 November) +ActOrderSongOrderSongResult Ndoni Mseleku1"Ndicel'ikiss" by Berita6"Senzeni" by DJ Manzo SA feat. Comado & Mthandazo GatyaEliminated Mr Music2"Ndiyagodola" by Ringo7"Emalanjeni" by SbahleSafe Zama Khumalo3"A Woman's Worth" by Alicia Keys8"Hamba Naye" by Cici feat. MafikizoloSafe Brandon Dhludhlu4"7 Years" by Lukas Graham9"Your Love" by AzanaSafe ZanoThando Ngxito5"Lean On Me" by Bill Withers10"Bella Ciao" by Tyler ICU & Nicole Elocin feat. Kabza De Small & DJ MaphorisaSafe
Top 4 (22 November) +ActOrderSongOrderSongResult Brandon Dhludhlu1"Via Orlando" by DJ Vetkuk vs Mahoota feat. Dr. Malinga5"Angelina" by Caiphus SemenyaSafe ZanoThando Ngxito2"Set Fire To The Rain" by Adale6"It Wasn't Me" by ShaggyEliminated Zama Khumalo 3"Thobela" by Boom Shaka7"Sweet Dreams" by BeyoncéSafe Mr Music4"It's a Man's Man's Man's World" by James Brown ft Loyiso Gijana8"Holy Spirit" by Majek FashekSafe
Top 3 (29 November) +ActOrderSongOrderSongResult Brandon Dhludhlu1"Adore" by Miguel4"Why Ngikufela" by Kabza De Small feat. ShaShaEliminated Zama Khumalo2"Empini" by Kelly Khumalo5"Nia Lo" by Kabza De Small feat. Nia PearlSafe Mr Music3"One and Only" by Adele6"Tikoloshi" by Soweto’s Finest feat. Kaygee Daking & BiziziSafe
Top 2 (6 December) +ActOrderIdols Produced SingleOrderSongOrderFavourite Previous Performance Result Mr Music1"Ngikethe Kahle" by Mr Music3"Ngamthanda Umuntu" by Linda5"Into Ingawe" by Sun-El Musician feat. Ami FakuRunner-up Zama Khumalo2"Ndizobizwa" by Zama Khumalo4"Without You" by Mariah Carey6"A Change Is Gonna Come" by Sam CookeWinner Before his elimination Brandon performed his single Uhambe.
Elimination Chart Colour key –Winner –Runner-up –Wild Card –Eliminated
+ Weekly results per act Act Top 16 Top 10 Top 9 Top 8 Top 7 Top 6 Top 5 Top 4 Top 3 Top 2 Boys Girls Zama Khumalo Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe SafeWinner Mr MusicSafe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe SafeRunner-up Brandon Dhludhlu Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe3rd place Eliminated ZanoThando Ngxito Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe4th place Eliminated Ndoni Mseleku Wild Card Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe5th place Eliminated Ntokozo Mvelase Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe6th place Eliminated Bongi Mntambo Safe Safe Safe Safe7th place Eliminated Jooma MizeWild Card Safe Safe8th place Eliminated Be Mohutsiwa Safe Safe9th place Eliminated Succedor Zitha Safe 10th place Eliminated Dee Mayekane 11th/13th place Eliminated Jerodine Madlala Melanin Zwane Ethan Norris14th/16th place Eliminated Qhawe Mahlangu Zahn-Reece Malgas
References