Vhembe-born Thapelo Molomo became an instant millionaire on Sunday (13 November) when he won Season 18 of Idols SA in front of a full house at Tshwane's Heartfelt Arena.
Thapelo, who is originally from Thohoyandou Block G, resides in Mokopane these days. After completing his matric, he went on to study psychology at the University of Venda (Univen) and started working as a trauma councillor at the Brits SAPS last year, with the rank of warrant officer.
On Sunday evening, he battled it out on stage with Nozipho Sibiya in the grand finale, winning the audience's love with his renditions of So Amazing by Luther Vandross and End of the Road by Boyz II Men. After he was crowned the winner, he performed his debut solo single, Phanda.
Thapelo's reward was not meagre. He walked away with R1 million in cash, made up of R350 000 in a Standard Bank MyMo account, R300 000 from Spotify and R350 000 from Mzansi Magic. He also won himself access to a Standard Bank wealth manager, a brand-new Toyota Starlet, a fashion voucher from Truworths and his live-show outfits to the value of R100 000, R85 000 worth of musical equipment from Yamaha and a recording contract with Kalawa Jazmee Records.
As runner-up, Nozi Sibiya won a recording contract with Kalawa Jazmee, as well as R50 000 in a Standard Bank MyMo account, a fashion voucher from Truworths and her live-show outfits to the value of R50 000, and R30 000 from Spotify.
Having made a few attempts at succeeding in the music industry, Thapelo said that taking part in the Idols SA competition certainly stood out as the most extraordinary experience for him, with the biggest stage he had been on. He said the competition had offered him the opportunity to learn more about performing live and how to handle himself as an artist.
"Being on Idols was enlightening. It has built me as a musician and a believer in God. I saw myself growing week after week, taking in the judges' feedback and applying it. I am proud that all that hard work has paid off," said the elated new winner.
"Winning Idols means so much to me. I've always had a passion for singing, and seeing people notice means the world to me. Thank you so much to everyone who voted for me. It is because of your vote that I made it. God bless you guys!"
The MEC for Sport, Art and Culture in Limpopo, Nakedi Kekana, congratulated Thapelo on this momentous achievement. "We congratulate Thapelo, the son of Limpopo, for a deserved win. He is among the hordes of artists and beauty queens who are keeping the Limpopo flag high. He has true talent and ably showed the rest of South Africa that he deserved the crown. We had no doubt that Thapelo would bring the win home, that's why we started preparing for his homecoming as early as two weeks ago, when it became apparent that we shall have a winner at Idols," said Kekana.