Idols South Africa (season 5)
Idols South Africa V was the fifth season of South African reality interactive talent show based on the British talent show Pop Idol. It premiered on Sunday, 1 February 2009, with a summer vibe and new rules.
Instead of the search happening in autumn–winter as with previous seasons, the auditions began in mid-December and run through the holiday season.
Colin Moss was unable to be the host of Season 5 due to movie commitments and the role open for auditions. Among those who auditioned were Top Billing presenter Janez Vermeiren, SABC 3 continuity presenter and radio DJ Liezl van der Westhuizen, television presenter and DJ Pabi Moloi - most recently seen in SABC 1s The Amazing Date —and Sami Sabiti, co-host of Idols 1. M-Net made an official announcement that Liezl van der Westhuizen will be the new host. She was presented to viewers in the first episode of Season 5 when Colin was run over by a car in a scene and she took the reins from him as the new host.
Final voting disaster
On the official finale Sasha Lee Davids was announced the winner, with 52.77% of the votes. Four days later, Idols announced that there had been problems with the voteline, and some of the votes that were sent before the cut-off time were not counted. The investigation hit the front page of the Times on 8 May 2009 and later in the day it was announced on www.mnet.co.za/idols/ that the recount had showed that Jason Hartman had received 200000 more votes than Sasha Lee Davids. After discussion between M-Net and FremantleMedia, Jason Hartman and Sasha Lee Davids were declared winners. They both received identical full prizes. This was the first time a win was shared on an Idol show.Neither Hartman nor Davids ever appeared in the bottom 3 or 2 prior to the final.
Finals
Finalists
Elimination chart
Live Show Details
Heat 1 - Top 14 (22 February 2009)
Heat 2 - Top 12 (1 March 2009)
Live Show 1 (8 March 2009)
Theme: Greatest Hits| Order | Artist | Song | Result |
| 1 | Ntsepa Pitjeng | "Dancing in the Street" | Eliminated |
| 2 | Lendel Moonsamy | "Lady Soul" | Safe |
| 3 | Sasha-Lee Davids | "I Will Love Again" | Safe |
| 4 | Thembi Nkosi | "Always Be My Baby" | Bottom three |
| 5 | Cameron Bruce | "Old Time Rock and Roll" | Safe |
| 6 | Daniel Baron | "Your Song" | Safe |
| 7 | Lizé Heerman | "Hallelujah" | Safe |
| 8 | Pixie Bennet | "Against All Odds " | Bottom two |
| 9 | Jason Hartman | "With a Little Help from My Friends" | Safe |
| 10 | Graeme Watkins | "Unchain My Heart" | Safe |
Live Show 2 (15 March 2009)
Theme: Divas and CroonersLive Show 3 (22 March 2009)
Theme: New Millennium| Order | Artist | Song | Result |
| 1 | Jason Hartman | "Love's Divine" | Safe |
| 2 | Sasha-Lee Davids | "Run" | Safe |
| 3 | Lizé Heerman | "Crazy" | Eliminated |
| 4 | Cameron Bruce | "Breakeven" | Bottom two |
| 5 | Graeme Watkins | "Clocks" | Bottom three |
| 6 | Thembi Nkosi | "Right Here " | Safe |
| 7 | Lendel Moonsamy | "Closer" | Safe |
| 8 | Pixie Bennet | "I'm Outta Love" | Safe |