Amanda Ngudle

Amanda Ngudle

Back when pay channel M-Net was still image conscious and reality television was a phenomenon, Idols was its most popular show.

It then had a following of otherwise decent folk who left work a bit earlier on Mondays just to check on the votes for their "frozen idols".

Other more proactive Idols fans simply stayed later to rig in as many votes for their chosen Idols as possible. The rules had clearly stated that every vote counted but in the wake of proof of hundreds of votes coming from the same lines, a new rule had to be pulled in - One Telephone Line, One Vote.

With that sorted, came the race card. Even though Idols has always been hailed as a multi-racial talent search reality show, black contestants have always been outnumbered by their white counterparts, especially at the top 10 level. It seems black Idols have a problem executing white music. And the producers have had a point asking which part of Pop Idols didn't people understand? Fair enough.

But back to the voting and black viewers being painted as armchair critics, which has always begged the question: just how many black viewers are on M-Net's database to date?

The voting has caused a whirlwinds such as robbing Zamajobe Sithole and Gift Gwe of their immediate moment of glory.

Let's get closer and watch with more scrutiny this time around.