The Solo Idol ended successfully with David Auna being the winner for the senior category; however spectators began voicing out their disapproval.
According to spectators, David Auna should never have gotten the crown and although he is a very talented singer, one of the reasons was that favor must have been shown by one of the judges, who is also David's older brother, Jonathan Auna.Another one of their reason was that David Auna already has been exposed to the music scene recording albums with members of his church and with one of the Gospel Pacific great, Ms Vanessa Quai of Vanuatu, along with his brother, Jonathan Auna.
According to spectators, David Auna already has a few steps ahead of the contestants because of his experience and exposure to the music scene. The crown should then have been given to the crowd favourite Becky Maetia who has never been exposed to the music scene but showed extraordinary talent.
Solomon Times spoke randomly to spectators of the Solo Idol 2008 and these are what they had to say.
"The winner as we all know already has an album and they should've given the first prize to Becky Maetia," Mr. Raven Oge from Western Province
"Mr. Auna is a great singer but he has a lot of expertise with singing and he should not have been judged by his own brother. Everyone thinks it is quite unfair. There was hope for the new girl however, this has been shattered," said Mr. Junior Kwai.
"I think it is unfair because the judge and the singer are brothers, however, there is always a next time and we hope that there is lack of favoritisms in the next show. The organizers should have taken this into consideration as people would definitely think that there is favoritism," said Ms. Andy Manu.
Solomon Times also spoke to Mr. Jonathan Auna and he stated that he expected criticisms from the crowd and that their reaction would be quite negative.
"I hesitated to be a judge at first as I knew my brother was taking part. However, I am passionate about music and I was willing to help and support new aspiring singers which was why I accepted the offer to be a judge," says Jonathan Auna.
"I was not the only judge sitting at the panel and although he is my brother, I judged him just like I judged the others. It was purely professional," says Jonathan Auna.