The search for Idols5 wannabe's began in Cape Town late last year before moving on to Durban and Jozi once the New Year kicked in.
The Durban auditions happened between 6 and 8 January and the Jozi ones wrapped this week.
The result: 100 finalists. 25 from Cape Town, 21 from Durban, 50 from Jozi and 4 from P.E.
In between the Durban and Jozi auditions, Algoa FM ran a competition in which hopefuls from the Eastern Cape could enter to win to audition in Jozi. The competition yeilded five winners who flew up for the day and four of them made it to the Top 100.
The 100 are now in Jozi going through the theatre phase of the competition - singing solo, singing in groups, harmonising, singing with and without accompaniment - generally learning how to sing - which we
seriously hope works.
Once they've been put through their paces they'll compete again to find the Top 24 and the competition begins in earnest.
Here are some flashes from the auditions round the country as well as fast facts about what went down:
A worrying omen of the horror that lies ahead.
And another.
Pixie (we kid you not) Bennet - the first contestant to make the Top 100 in Durban.
Health nut Bade Mthemba - another Durbanite through to the Top 100. Bade's a nutritionist who went on a strict diet aka ate nothing for weeks before the auditions.
28-year old Waleed Isaacs who paid a fortune to audition - he flew from London to try out. He's obviously loaded with bucks - he's sung backing vocals for Mariah Carey, James Brown and Leona Lewis and performed at Wayne Rooney's wedding.
22-year old professional musician John Henry - apparently he can play 26 instruments. We didn't even know that 26 instruments exist so we're very susspicious of this claim.
Monique Maartins, a photographer from Pretoria and Abo Maluluka, a medical student from Cape Town going Rihanna.
We pray they can play.
Jozi auditionee Jason Hartman, who sings with his family's band
The Carpenters. JustUS. He's also Green and runs a non profit organisation that teaches people how to garden to be self sufficient.
First in line in the Jozi que - Bianca Du Preez, with a WTF? hairstyle hovering just behind.
Idols5 premieres on M-Net on Sunday, 1 February 2009 at 17h30.