WATCH: New season of Idols SA off to a 'classic' start

Idols SA returned for its 12th season last night, and boy were viewers in for a delightful treat.

Dramatic, hilarious and chill-inducing are just some of the words to describe the hotly-anticipated first episode of the talent search, which was filmed in Durban.

What drew the most attention, especially on social media, was an incident in which one of the hopefuls, Nqobile Gumede, collapsed in front of the judges just after she was told that she would not make it to the next round of the competition. Subsequently, paramedics were called to assist her before she was taken to hospital.

It has been reported that she has since recovered.

While the show was packed with sidesplitting moments, it was Mbishop Shezi who stole the hearts of many South Africans, but for reasons you wouldn't believe.

The 30-year-old had the judges and viewers in stitches when he opted for "classical'' singing during his audition to become the next South African idol.

Taking it to the next level, Mbishop went on to treat viewers to an impromptu performance with Somizi.

M-Net started off the show by addressing Gareth Cliff's race saga which hogged headlines for weeks on end. The scene was in reference to the controversy that surrounded Gareth as he was axed from the show after a massive public outcry following a comment made on Twitter.