And the Idol is...

After five months and thousands upon thousands of contestants, the voting public has chosen Sasha Lee Davids (18), the pastor’s daughter from Atlantis in the Cape, as South Africa's new Idol.

She was named the winner at the end of an exhilarating two-hour live show at the Mosaïek Theatre in Johannesburg that was marked by thrilling surprises. The first surprise was a "broken" Colin Moss, who hobbled onto the stage after his heart-stopping "accident" in the first episode to wish the contestants well, only to be pushed off stage when new 'Idols' host Liezel van der Westhuizen protected her turf.

Fortunately, the role of "the broken Colin" was played by a stunt man in the 'Idols' final and Liezel and Colin remain good friends in real life.

The Top 2 finalists each performed three last songs with which to impress voters. Sasha Lee's personal Top 10 number was 'Bleeding Love' by Leona Lewis. The judges chose the Black Sweden remix of the Abba hit 'Mamma Mia' as their favourite Sasha Lee song, and finally she unveiled the song that will become her first single: 'True Believer'. It’s available now for download from the Nokia Music Store.

Jason chose 'Great Heart' by Johnny Clegg as his Top 10 favourite and the judges' choice for him was the Beatles classic, 'With a Little Help from my Friends'. The song Jason would have released as his first single was called 'Break The Silence'.

Sasha Lee and Jason also collaborated on the Barbra Streisand and Bryan Adams hit duet duet 'I Finally Found Someone'.

The coveted Wooden Mic award this year went to the unforgettable Jan De La Rey Wagenar, who picked up his prize in person and sang 'Alleen-leen-leen'.

One of the best-kept surprises of the night, however, was an international Idols first — 'Idols' judges Randall, Gareth and Mara took to the stage singing The Beatles' 'The Long And Winding Road'. At the judges' table Dave just shook his head and sighed.

Apart from the Idols who have become new celebrities themselves the show's finale turned out to be a truly star-studded one, including Bollywood princess, Shilpa Shetty was in the audience enjoying the show. The actress is in South Africa to support her team in the IPL tournament that is currently taking place.

Winner of 'Idols' Season IV, Jody Williams, also returned to the 'Idols' stage singing her own hits, 'Never Knew Love Like This Before' and 'Wind It'. But the contestants were blown away when they watched a televised good luck message from none other than Wayne Brady, wishing the Top 2 all the best. Brady is known for his stand-up comedy in the hit series 'Whose Line is it Anyway?' as well as for presenting the hit game show 'Don't Forget the Lyrics'.

Sasha Lee, the fourth Idols winner from the Western Cape, walks away with a recording contract from Sony, a Citroen C1, Yamaha music equipment of her choice to the value of R50 000, an Acer Aspire Notebook and an LCD wide screen monitor, a R10 000 fashion voucher from Truworths, a JNC technology hamper including an LCD TV, GPS, MP4 player and docking station, a Shure SLZ wireless microphone system, a R10 000 Cardies voucher, a Samsung Beatbox with prepaid sim and R1100 worth of airtime from the Grid, and one year’s free spa treatments and products from Phree Edge.