Francisca Blasich had a dream. She wanted to be a singer, a pop idol. She had the looks, she had the talent, and she had the voice. Best of all, she had a place in the finals of South Africa's Idols competition.
But the looks, the talent and the voice weren't enough. It wasn't about who could sing best, but who fitted the show's pre-ordained profile. It wasn't about talent, it was about race.
And for Francisca, the dream had suddenly become a nightmare.
Earlier this week, 21-year-old Blasich stunned Idols fans when she withdrew from the final 12.
At the time, she gave no reason for pulling out of a contest she had every chance of winning. But Blasich has decided to spill the beans and has dealt the controversy-riddled show another body blow by accusing the organisers of "blatant racism".
That, says her manager Boebie Hamsa, is the reason behind her sudden withdrawal. In a statement issued through Hamsa on Friday, Francisca said one of the main reasons she had withdrawn was because two Idols officials had asked her whether she was coloured or white.
"One was a blatant approach, the other more subtle."
"Francisca replied that she thought the competition was all about the best voice," said Hamsa, who added that the singer had been on edge about the way the talent search was being run.
According to Hamsa, another reason Francisca pulled out was because, even before performing in the Wild Card section, she saw a list of names of those who would be going through as finalists.
"Some irresponsible official had left the list lying about. Someone then told her 'not to worry - you're going to go through in any case'. After that she felt the whole thing was a foregone conclusion."
Interviewed recently on DStv's Idols Channel 44, Francisca told how excited she had been to be in the final 32 and how she felt she had a very good chance of winning.
But Hamsa said, she has felt "on edge - particularly after the question of her colour came up".
"They don't know where to put me," Francisca told Hamsa. "These people are playing chess with us. They are using us as pawns."
"Francisca called me on Monday night to say she wanted to withdraw. It is not something she really wanted to do because she knew she had a good chance. But now she feels she has been wasting her time."
An M-Net spokesperson said he knew about the "colour" question.
"There has been a lot of speculation on the Idols website forum over Francisca's race. We cannot control what viewers say on the website.
"Carl Fischer, director of M-Net local productions, spoke to Francisca and asked her how she wanted us to handle the question on her behalf. We knew the press would start asking the same sort of thing and that's how the question came up."
Fischer said: "When we were told Francisca was withdrawing, various attempts were made by the production team to see what the problem was. All we knew was she was quitting for personal reasons. We very reluctantly agreed to release her from her contract.
"It is true that we speak to all the final 32 from time to time about various issues. Francisca was not the only contestant to discuss the colour issue. We always make ourselves available to give guidance if contestants ask for it."