Edward Tsumele

Edward Tsumele

Pop Idols is back. The search for "the one" talented singer starts with auditions at the Standard Bank Arena tomorrow.

Mara Louw, one of the judges, said: "Just sing the tune. Don't try to sound like Beyonce or Mariah Carey. "Just sing. If you can sing, we'll hear it," she said.

But choosing a winner out of the participants, has always been riddled with controversy, and this time is no different.

In the past, voting in the competition was marred by brouhaha over who should be the winner.

The fairness of the selection process had also been questioned.

Only people with access to DSTV can choose the finalists and winner.

This cuts out a majority of ordinary people from participating.

Besides the toughness of the competition, several winners have not made in the entertainment industry as expected.

Of all the past winners, only one has been successful in showbiz, Heinz Winckler.

Karin Kortje has since been plunged into controversy over things that had nothing to do with the competition.

Does anybody remember Anke Pietrangeli?

If you don't, do not punish yourself because there are others who do not.

M-Net's chief executive, Carl Fisher, said winners did not expect the sponsors' company to babysit them, but had to be responsible for their own careers.

Previous winners may not have been as successful as hoped, possibly because they had been left to the whims of greedy agents.