The eighteenth season of South African Idols premiered on 17 July 2022 on the Mzansi Magic television network under the theme "Singing a Different Tune".
[1] Over 9,000 contestants auditioned for the season.
The season was won by Thapelo Molomo and the runner-up was Nozi Sibiya.
Shortly after online auditions for the season were opened, it was announced that Randall Abrahams and Unathi Nkayi would not return to the show as judges.
[2] In February 2022, M-Net announced that Thembi Seete and JR replaced them, joining Somizi Mhlongo on the judges panel.