Karabo Mogane may have won this year's Idols South Africa, which had its finale last week, but many would say a certain flamboyant judge was the people's hero. Somizi Mhlongo injected soul into the show when he sashayed onto the judging panel this season with his outrageous outfits, platinum punk hairdos, and tell-it-like-it-is commentary. Mhlongo got the nation LOLing again.Judging by the outpouring of praise on Twitter (even from Boity and Julius Malema), he's the reason many people watched season 11 at all."All Unathi does is cry," one fan said. "Randall is sour. Gareth, whatever. Somizi is real. He isn't afraid to be who he is and he demands that of everyone as well."Mhlongo's antics are fast becoming TV legend. Remember, people will say, when he would jump off his chair (in his cream Elton John-esque suit) when he was excited? Ai Somizi. That guy.mini_story_image_vleft1It's arguably because of Mhlongo that many are calling season 11 the best yet - with overall votes spiking from 24.3million in season 10 to 78.8million. Could he have outshone the contestants? "SomGaga gets a YES from me," tweeted one fan. "He wins season 11 ... finish and klaar!""SomGaga". "King of Bling". Mhlongo has as many names as he has hats in the entertainment industry. Long before he became a fourth judge on a singing contest, he had gained a reputation as a choreographer. People laughed at his antics as "Madame Gigi" - his socialite alter ego - and read about his romantic scandals. We knew he was funny, crazy, un-PC. But on Idols he showed us his brilliance."Some people think I'm frivolous and just about the glam and I don't know anything about music," Mhlongo tells me. "So, for me, Idols was about proving a point. There's more to me than what you see on Twitter and Instagram. There's brains, knowledge, wisdom and spirituality."As the son of late comedy virtuoso Ndaba Mhlongo and actress Mary Twala, he says he had "no choice" but to be in entertainment."The showbiz bug is in my genes. All I know is lights, camera ... action." He travelled with his parents from age two.One of his happiest memories is of sleeping on a mattress in their "self-made" tour bus. "I always felt like a superstar and yet they were difficult financial times."There have been parodies aplenty, including of his many hairstyles (in good humour, he retweeted photos comparing him and horror film character Chucky)."I promised myself that one mistake I will never make on Idols is to be someone I'm not. I'm going to be authentic. They hired Somizi, not a character, and that's why people responded positively. It's a reality show; you have to be real. My main message is about energy, positivity. It's about fun, laughter, joy, bubbliness ... I brought exactly that."He also brought original, cut-the-bull commentary. He even made the other judges wet their broeks. "I wasn't happy or excited about the combination of the ballad and the up-tempo," he told one contestant. "It was like eating pap with jam. They don't mix.""Whooshem!", his retort when a contestant would do something embarrassing, and many other Somizi-isms, have been popularised."I've always been opinionated. I have opinions from here to QwaQwa. It comes from being in the township, being gay, and standing up for what I believe in from an early age ... I was never apologetic about my sexuality ... I've never been in the closet. Never. Yes, there is stigma, but people respond to your energy. How do you attack someone who knows exactly who he is? I never gave a hoot about anyone's opinions of me. I'm not arrogant ... I'm very confident."story_article_right1He owes that to his parents "telling me that I'm a special child. I am the sweetest person in the world."But his critiques on Idols weren't always so sweet? "It's called tough love. I'm giving them something to go home and work on and they come back a better person." In the auditions, he told Mogane that he has a "dishwashing water personality", which trended on social media. "Since I said that, he started working on himself, and he came out an amazing beast who won Idols."It wasn't just what Mhlongo said, but the way he said it. "I spoke like a person you would identify with in the street. I don't see why I should change now just because I'm on a mostly English-speaking channel ... and put on an accent ... You knooow, it's UBSolutely amaaaazing."Not everyone appreciated his colourful turn of phrase. Last month in an open letter, he lashed out against "educated blacks" who criticised his "not so refined" English accent and vocabulary. "My brains put bread on my table," he wrote, "not English."He used those brains to carve out his career after dropping out of school in Grade 9. " I knew at 12 what I wanted to be." At 13, he starred in a stage production of Sarafina!When it comes to his 20-year-old daughter, his tone is more earnest. "I never asked anyone for advice on how to be a father. I did it my way."hunterl@sundaytimes.co.za..