Jody has cited singers Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Celine Dion as her main musical inspirations and influences.
During the six-month-long competition, Jody became known for her performances of power ballads by artists including Whitney Houston, Celine Dion and Christina Aguilera.
Jody also performed "brilliant" versions of songs originally done by male artists, including Bryan Adams, Michael Jackson and Luther Vandross.
On 9 December 2007, Jody beat out 21-year-old fellow Capetonian, Andriëtte Norman on the season finale, which saw a record-breaking 7,803,990 votes being cast.
[3]Her winnings included a record deal with Sony BMG, a Citroen C1, a Cardies hamper, cellphone and spa treatments for a year and Yamaha music and sound equipment among other prizes.
[6] She appeared on Idols, then recorded her debut album, whilst still at Bosmansdam High School, in the Milnerton suburb of Cape Town.
[citation needed] Williams performed a few songs in the 2009 South African Idols Finale including "Wind It".
[7] Williams collaborated with four other artists, American Sean Kingston (Americas), Singaporean Tabitha Nauser (Asia), British Steve Appleton (Europe), and Australian Jessica Mauboy (Oceania).