For anyone who grew up with South African pop culture in the early 2000s, there are certain songs that do not need much of an introduction.
The first few seconds of 101’s "Who’s It Gonna Be?" can take you straight back to a time when music television was still a big part of how people discovered artists, CDs were something you actually bought and a pop star appearing at a shopping mall could turn into an afternoon outing.
101 arrived in 2002 after winning the first South African season of Coca-Cola "Popstars". Pam Andrews, Erin Samson, Ntumiseng Mokhasipe, Preston Sihlangu and Kurt Herman were brought together as the winning group, with their name coming from their combined ages.
Their debut single became part of the soundtrack of that era and the group released a self-titled album before eventually going their separate ways.
From the outside, it was the sort of teenage dream that made reality television so appealing. Win a singing competition, get a record deal, cars, cellphones and money, then suddenly find yourself recognised wherever you go.
But Andrews was 17 when 101 won "Popstars" and the reality of becoming famous so quickly was very different from the fantasy.
In a video shared on her Instagram account, Andrews has now opened up about what was happening behind the scenes and why she eventually walked away from the group.
"I was the youngest member of 101 and grew up poor. All my dreams came true, everything I asked God. Suddenly I was famous. We won cellphones, cars, and had lots of money…" she said.
For a teenager who had just watched her biggest dreams arrive almost overnight, there was little time to work out what came next. The excitement of winning "Popstars" quickly became a life of rehearsals, interviews, performances and constant attention.
"But the pressure became too much. I didn’t know what was happening to me. I felt alone and miserable," Andrews said.
That sense of pressure is reflected in a 2024 research paper, “The Cost of Being a Celebrity on Mental Health”, by Samah Adeima of the University of Tehran. The paper identifies intense scrutiny, loss of privacy and the pressure to maintain a public image as psychological strains that can accompany celebrity.
It also points to self-doubt, fear of failure, isolation and loneliness as possible consequences of those pressures.
While the paper does not establish that fame causes mental illness, it offers context for Andrews’ description of what happened when the excitement of becoming a pop star was replaced by the demands that came with being one.
She began withdrawing from the group, missing rehearsals and interviews as she struggled with feelings she did not understand at the time.
"I started hating being famous. I started hating being there. I just wanted to be left alone," she said.
It is a striking admission when placed against the way 101 is remembered.
There was no social media documenting every appearance or giving a young star somewhere to explain what was happening away from the cameras.
Fans saw the polished version: the television performances, the songs on the radio and the excitement of seeing the group in person.
Andrews was living the other side of that visibility.
She also spoke about self-harm during the period, describing experiences involving her mother and being hit as part of the context of what she was going through. It was a period when, by her own account, she was increasingly unhappy and struggling to cope with the life she had once wanted.
Eventually, she reached the point where leaving felt like the only option.
"I’ve decided to leave the group. I said I have no idea what I’m going to do. But I just know I needed to leave. I’m extremely unhappy," she recalled.
Andrews left 101 in 2003. At the time, her departure could easily have been read simply as a young singer choosing a different career path. In hindsight, her explanation gives the decision another dimension.
She has spoken about leaving before.
In a 2010 interview with TVSA, Andrews recalled how the five members had been brought together from different parts of the country and how things became more difficult once the initial excitement around "Popstars" faded. She also spoke about discovering that acting suited her more than singing.
Leaving 101 did not mean leaving entertainment altogether. Within weeks, Andrews was offered a role on "Backstage", where she played Frankie, opening another career path for the teenager who had decided she could no longer handle life as part of a pop group. She later appeared in "Rhythm City" and other productions.
In 2010, she described acting as something she had come to love "much more than" singing and said she felt "Popstars" had made that possible. In that sense, leaving 101 did not close the door on her ambitions. It redirected them.
Now, the story has resurfaced because Andrews was recently invited to take part in a 101 reunion podcast. The other members could not attend, but the invitation prompted her to revisit a chapter of her life she had never publicly unpacked in this way.
"I was recently invited to a kind of 101 reunion podcast. Unfortunately, the other members couldn’t attend, but I guess it triggered something in me. I just thought it was time to talk about it," she said.
That is what makes her account more complicated than a simple early-2000s nostalgia trip.
For audiences, 101 can still conjure up a particular moment in South African pop culture - reality singing competitions, music television, CDs, radio hits and teenagers becoming stars almost overnight.
For Andrews, it was also when the dream became too much to bear.
Still a teenager when fame found her, she was left feeling alone and desperate to get away. Leaving 101, however, did not mean leaving entertainment behind. She simply needed a different way into it.
bernelee.vollmer@nationalmg.co.za