The Gauteng High Court has concluded that Idols and M-Net were entitled to exclude Ms. Siyakha Tshayela from the “Top 16” round of Idols.
Ms. Tshayela had asked the court on Saturday evening (17 September 2016) to allow her to participate in the “Top 16” round despite not complying with one of the significant rules of the competition: that she be able to sign an exclusive recording deal with a label identified by Idols.
Because her court application failed, she will not be able to continue as a contestant.
As mentioned in an earlier statement, the rules of the competition specifically state that contestants must be able to sign an exclusive contract with a record label identified by Idols. This is to ensure that opportunities are given to talent who do not have existing recording contracts.
Ms. Tshayela signed the Idols agreement on 28 February 2016. However, it subsequently came to the attention of the producers that she had entered into a contract with another recording company which was in place until 2019.
Ms. Tshayela said she had tried to cancel the contract, but the third party disputed this.
Idols gave Ms. Tshayela an opportunity to resolve the issue, but she had been unable to do so by 15 September and, as Idols was entering the Top 10 stage, it was not possible to keep her in the competition.
When she was informed of this, she brought an urgent application in the High Court seeking an order that she be reinstated. The application was heard at 20h00 on 17 September and judgment was handed down in favour of the production company of Idols and M-Net later in the evening.
Judge Ismail ruled that Ms. Tshayela had made a misrepresentation in the agreement she signed with Idols, and this entitled Idols to end her participation.
It is clear that M.s Tshayela is a talented young individual. She was given several months to resolve this issue, but was unable to do so. We wish her well in her future endeavours.
