# Idols South Africa season 16

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

| Contestant | Age | Hometown | Place 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 | 11th-13th |
| Melanin Zwane | 21 | Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal | 11th-13th |
| Ethan Norris | 26 | Roodepoort, Gauteng | 14th-16th |
| Qhawe Mahlangu | 23 | KwaThema, Ekurhuleni | 14th-16th |
| Zahn-Reece Malgas | 24 | Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng | 14th-16th |

## Weekly Song Choice and Result
### Top 16
#### Boys (20 September)

| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| ZanoThando Ngxito | 1 | "I Got a Woman" by Ray Charles | Safe |
| Jooma Mize | 2 | "Always and Forever" by Heatwave | Wild Card |
| Zahn-Reece | 3 | "Superstar" by Luther Vandross | Eliminated |
| Ethan Norris | 4 | "Feeling Good" by Nina Simone | Eliminated |
| Succedor Zitha | 5 | "Emotion" by Destiny's Child | Safe |
| Mr Music | 6 | "All I Could Do Was Cry" by Etta James | Safe |
| Brandon Dhludhlu | 7 | "Dancing On My Own" by Calum Scott | Safe |
| Qhawe Mahlangu | 8 | "Try a Little Tenderness" by Otis Redding | Eliminated |

#### Girls (27 September)

| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Jerodine Madlala | 1 | "Something He Can Feel" by Aretha Franklin | Eliminated |
| Melanin Zwane | 2 | "True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper | Eliminated |
| Bongi Mntambo | 3 | "All the Man That I Need" by Whitney Houston | Safe |
| Ndoni Mseleku | 4 | "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman | Wild Card |
| Dee Mayekane | 5 | "Rolling in the Deep " by Adele | Eliminated |
| Be Mohutsiwa | 6 | "How Come You Don't Call Me" by Alicia Keys | Safe |
| Ntokozo Mvelase | 7 | "I'd Rather Go Blind" by Etta James | Safe |
| Zama Khumalo | 8 | "Crazy" by Seal | Safe |

### Top 10 (11 October)

| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Brandon Dhludhlu | 1 | "Oh, Freedom" by Odetta Holmes | Safe |
| Ndoni Mseleku | 2 | "Ungayeki" by Brenda Mtambo | Safe |
| ZanoThando Ngxito | 3 | "Superwoman" by Alicia Keys | Safe |
| Zama Khumalo | 4 | "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke | Safe |
| Mr Music | 5 | "Iqhawe" by Sjava | Safe |
| Be Mohutsiwa | 6 | "Make It Happen" by Mariah Carey | Safe |
| Jooma Mize | 7 | "River" by Leon Bridges | Safe |
| Ntokozo Mvelase | 8 | "Never Alone" by Tori Kelly | Safe |
| Succedor Zitha | 9 | "Higher Ground" by Stevie Wonder | Eliminated |
| Bongi Mntambo | 10 | "Spirit" by Beyoncé | Safe |

### Top 9 (18 October)

| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Jooma Mize | 1 | "Madoda Sabelani" by Loyiso Gijana | Safe |
| Bongi Mntambo | 2 | "Stand Up" by Cynthia Erivo | Safe |
| Ndoni Mseleku | 3 | "Ndizele Wena" by Amanda Black | Safe |
| Be Mohutsiwa | 4 | "Boo'd Up" by Ella Mai | Eliminated |
| ZanoThando Ngxito | 5 | "Price To Pay" by Miss Pru feat. Blaq Diamond | Safe |
| Ntokozo Mvelase | 6 | "Happiness" by Kelly Khumalo | Safe |
| Brandon Dhludhlu | 7 | "Sorry" by Justin Bieber | Safe |
| Zama Khumalo | 8 | "Say So" by Doja Cat | Safe |
| Mr Music | 9 | "Into Ingawe" by Sun-El Musician feat. Ami Faku | Safe |

### Top 8 (25 October)

| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Bongi Mntambo | 1 | "Ngiyak'uthanda" by Zandie Khumalo | Safe |
| Mr Music | 2 | "Ngempela" by Sjava feat. DJ Maphorisa & Howard | Safe |
| Zama Khumalo | 3 | "Finally" by Thabsie | Safe |
| Brandon Dhludhlu | 4 | "Angsakwazi" by Musa | Safe |
| Jooma Mize | 5 | "Lady Lady" by Masego | Eliminated |
| ZanoThando Ngxito | 6 | "NaLingi" by Manu WorldStar | Safe |
| Ntokozo Mvelase | 7 | "Focus" by H.E.R. | Safe |
| Ndoni Mseleku | 8 | "Inyanga" by Cici | Safe |

### Top 7: Showstoppers (1 November)

| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Zama Khumalo | 1 | "This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris feat. Rihanna | Safe |
| Mr Music | 2 | "Woza My Love" by Blaq Diamond | Safe |
| Ndoni Mseleku | 3 | "Already" by Beyoncé feat. Shatta Wale & Major Lazer | Safe |
| Bongi Mntambo | 4 | "Déjà Vu" by Beyoncé feat. Jay-Z | Eliminated |
| Brandon Dhludhlu | 5 | "Circles" by Post Malone | Safe |
| ZanoThando Ngxito | 6 | "Loyal" by Chris Brown feat. Lil Wayne & Tyga | Safe |
| Ntokozo Mvelase | 7 | "Break My Heart" by Dua Lipa | Safe |

### Top 6 (8 November)

| Act | Order | Song | Order | Song | Result |
| Ntokozo Mvelase | 1 | "Upside Down" by Diana Ross | 7 | "Long As I Live" by Toni Braxton | Eliminated |
| Mr Music | 2 | "Remember Me" by Lucky Dube | 8 | "Ngaqonywa" by Aubrey Qwana | Safe |
| ZanoThando Ngxito | 3 | "Mmatswale" by Caiphus Semenya | 9 | "Mmatswale" by Malaika | Safe |
| Ndoni Mseleku | 4 | "Khawuleza" by Bra Hugh Masekela | 10 | "Ungowami" by Ami Faku | Safe |
| Brandon Dhludhlu | 5 | "Sweet Lady" by Tyrese Gibson | 11 | "Ubala" by Simmy feat. Sun-El Musician | Safe |
| Zama Khumalo | 6 | "Wedding Day" by Mzansi feat. Brenda Fassie | 12 | "Everything I Wanted" by Billie Eilish | Safe |

### Top 5: Theatre Week (15 November)

| Act | Order | Song | Order | Song | Result |
| Ndoni Mseleku | 1 | "Ndicel'ikiss" by Berita | 6 | "Senzeni" by DJ Manzo SA feat. Comado & Mthandazo Gatya | Eliminated |
| Mr Music | 2 | "Ndiyagodola" by Ringo | 7 | "Emalanjeni" by Sbahle | Safe |
| Zama Khumalo | 3 | "A Woman's Worth" by Alicia Keys | 8 | "Hamba Naye" by Cici feat. Mafikizolo | Safe |
| Brandon Dhludhlu | 4 | "7 Years" by Lukas Graham | 9 | "Your Love" by Azana | Safe |
| ZanoThando Ngxito | 5 | "Lean On Me" by Bill Withers | 10 | "Bella Ciao" by Tyler ICU & Nicole Elocin feat. Kabza De Small & DJ Maphorisa | Safe |

### Top 4 (22 November)

| Act | Order | Song | Order | Song | Result |
| Brandon Dhludhlu | 1 | "Via Orlando" by DJ Vetkuk vs Mahoota feat. Dr. Malinga | 5 | "Angelina" by Caiphus Semenya | Safe |
| ZanoThando Ngxito | 2 | "Set Fire To The Rain" by Adale | 6 | "It Wasn't Me" by Shaggy | Eliminated |
| Zama Khumalo | 3 | "Thobela" by Boom Shaka | 7 | "Sweet Dreams" by Beyoncé | Safe |
| Mr Music | 4 | "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" by James Brown ft Loyiso Gijana | 8 | "Holy Spirit" by Majek Fashek | Safe |

### Top 3 (29 November)

| Act | Order | Song | Order | Song | Result |
| Brandon Dhludhlu | 1 | "Adore" by Miguel | 4 | "Why Ngikufela" by Kabza De Small feat. ShaSha | Eliminated |
| Zama Khumalo | 2 | "Empini" by Kelly Khumalo | 5 | "Nia Lo" by Kabza De Small feat. Nia Pearl | Safe |
| Mr Music | 3 | "One and Only" by Adele | 6 | "Tikoloshi" by Soweto’s Finest feat. Kaygee Daking & Bizizi | Safe |

### Top 2 (6 December)

| Act | Order | Idols Produced Single | Order | Song | Order | Favourite Previous Performance | Result |
| Mr Music | 1 | "Ngikethe Kahle" by Mr Music | 3 | "Ngamthanda Umuntu" by Linda | 5 | "Into Ingawe" by Sun-El Musician feat. Ami Faku | Runner-up |
| Zama Khumalo | 2 | "Ndizobizwa" by Zama Khumalo | 4 | "Without You" by Mariah Carey | 6 | "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke | Winner |
* 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 16 | Top 10 | Top 9 | Top 8 | Top 7 | Top 6 | Top 5 | Top 4 | Top 3 | Top 2 |
| Act | Boys | Girls | Top 10 | Top 9 | Top 8 | Top 7 | Top 6 | Top 5 | Top 4 | Top 3 | Top 2 |
| Zama Khumalo | — | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Winner |
| Mr Music | Safe | — | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Runner-up |
| Brandon Dhludhlu | Safe | — | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | 3rd place | Eliminated |
| ZanoThando Ngxito | Safe | — | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | 4th place | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Ndoni Mseleku | — | Wild Card | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | 5th place | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Ntokozo Mvelase | — | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | 6th place | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Bongi Mntambo | — | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | 7th place | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Jooma Mize | Wild Card | — | Safe | Safe | 8th place | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Be Mohutsiwa | — | Safe | Safe | 9th place | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Succedor Zitha | Safe | — | 10th place | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Dee Mayekane | — | 11th/13th place | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Jerodine Madlala | — | 11th/13th place | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Melanin Zwane | — | 11th/13th place | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Ethan Norris | 14th/16th place | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Qhawe Mahlangu | 14th/16th place | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Zahn-Reece Malgas | 14th/16th place | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |