PRETORIA – Musa Sukwene, the gentle giant from eMalahleni made history when he became the first contestant ever from Mpumalanga to win Idols SA when the results were announced live at Moreleta Park on Tuesday night.

The competition between Musa and runner-up winner, Brenden Ledwaba, also from Mpumalanga was described as a neck-to-neck over the tense final week of the competition which saw the 26 year old winning by a narrow margin of just over 1000 votes.

According to one of the judges, Randall Abrahams, this year was the most incredible season so far and has attracted many people from South Africa and Africa as a whole.

“Both finalists received over two million votes and we are happy with the public’s decision.” Said Abrahams.

Musa attributed his victory to his fans’ support and God saying that he would have not made it that far without them.

He said the victory came as huge surprise because he always thought that Brenden, whom he described as super talented, was going to walk away with the title.

“I’m sure many people are as surprised as I am and I’m not certain how it happened. Only God knows better and I will be forever thankful for that,” said the humbled winner.

The star told Mpumalanga News that the fame that will come with his winning is not going to change his personality. He promised his fans that he will remain the humble down to earth guy that they fell in love with.

“I have been blessed with a simple heart and being humble is part of my nature. I am simply chilled and free spirited and that’s how I will stay forever,” he added.

For Brenden, losing to Musa is something he will always cherish and appreciate because he had been a mentor and source of advice since the beginning of the competition. He said that they both grew closer during their Idols journey and they have a number of projects that they will do together.

“We are not going to talk much about our plans together but we talked a lot and something is definitely going to happen,” said the ladies’ man.

Musa walked away with a brand new Ford Fiesta and other prizes bringing the value of his winnings to over a million rands. He said he was going to invest the money into a good use.

The live results show was attended by Mpumalanga’s MEC’s for Arts and Culture and DEDET,Ms Sibongile Manana and Pinky Phosa. The audience was entertained by local artists including Micasa, Kuli Chana, The Parlotones and AKA.

During the show, M-Net and Mzansi Magic announced that auditions for next year’s competition will kick off next year in February.