In winter 2001 - 2002 ITV launched a new musical reality TV competition, Pop Idol, a search to find the UK's next big star. The winner would recieve a £1 million record contract with BMG.

This time the competition was looking to find a solo singer, which is what Darius wanted to be and the big difference between Popstars and Pop Idol was that on Pop Idol the public would be able to vote for the winner once they had got down to the final 50.

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Darius was unsure whether to enter for Pop Idol, his family didn't want him to put himself through any heartache again.

He told Sunday Mail in 2002 'My family were petrified that I'd go through the same thing again. But they understood. When I was three, I was fascinated by fire and candles. We were in the Louvre museum in Paris, and there were these beautiful candles, this glow from the corner of the room. I was drawn to this corner and was trying to touch the candles and my dad had to explain to me, "No Darius, it burns." He kept putting his finger in and saying "Ouch, ouch." At the age of three I didn't understand this, and I insisted on putting my finger into the flame. Apparently I didn't cry. I just looked at the flame and went to touch it again. My Dad has since said to me, "You always insist on doing things your way, even if it means you get burned."

Darius had learnt a lot from his experiences on Popstars, he wanted to work with the best people and the best producers in the business, and he wanted the experience of performing on a big stage to a large audience. He knew Pop Idol was going to be the next level.

Auditions were held during the early summer of 2001 in various locations across the United Kingdom. Selected acts were then broadcast on a series of audition programmes in October 2001.

Again, Darius had been told that he could play the guitar and sing one of his own songs for his audition but when he walked into the audition in Glasgow the judges disappointed him by saying he had to sing a cover. If he had been allowed to sing his own song he would have performed  'Colourblind', his future debut No.1 single. Instead he decided to sing 'Future Love Paradise' by Seal, who was one of his favourite artists. The judges were impressed with his performance, with Pete Waterman being the most enthusiastic, and so he was on his way to London for the next audition.

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After getting through the various stages of the show Darius was amongst those told on 11th September 2001 that he had made the final 50 in the competition. The final 50 then had to be reduced to 10 and so had to perform in a series of heats. During these heats each group was put to the public vote each week. Two contestants from each week were voted through to the show's final ten. Darius was put into the last of the five heats. His heat was recorded on 28th November 2001 and aired on 1st December 2001. During his heat he sang a version of 'Something Inside (So Strong)' by Labi Siffre, accompanied just by piano. Unfortunately after the public votes were counted he came third behind Aaron Bayley and Rik Waller, just missing out on going through to the final ten.

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And so it seemed that Darius' dreams of becoming a Pop Idol were over, however on the first live show of the series, broadcast on 15th December 2001, just 9 contestants appeared. Rik Waller had a throat infection which prevented him from singing.
The producers allowed Waller to sit out the first week and, if he had recovered, they would let him compete from the second week.  A decision was made that if he failed to recover, Darius, who had missed out on a place in the final 10 in the same heat as Waller, would take his place. Waller visited a doctor in the week following the first show to assess his condition. Darius was contacted and told to prepare himself that he may be in the live shows after all. 

Leaving it until the last possible moment Rik Waller pulled out of Pop Idol on 22nd December, the day of the second live show. Darius then immediately replaced him as one of the nine remaining contestants and took to the stage to perform 'When A Child Is Born' as part of the episode's Christmas song theme. He immediately impressed and figures published later showed he came third in the public vote with 19% of votes. 

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Each week Darius was convinced it was his last, but his support increased and his performances got better and better. 

Darius performed the following songs:

Week 2: Christmas Songs - "When a Child Is Born" (Johnny Mathis)    
Week 3: Burt Bacharach Songs - "What the World Needs Now Is Love" (Jackie DeShannon)    
Week 4: Songs From Films - "Baby Can I Hold You" (Tracy Chapman)    
Week 5: Abba Songs  "I Have a Dream"    
Week 6: Big Band Songs: "Let's Face the Music and Dance" (Irving Berlin)    
Week 7: Number 1 Hits: "It's Not Unusual" (Tom Jones) and "Whole Again" (Atomic Kitten)
Week 8: Judge's Choice: "Dancing in the Moonlight" (Toploader) and "Make It Easy on Yourself" (The Walker Brothers)

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During the competition being aired on ITV it was watched by a peak of 10 million people. The Pop Idol contestants were propelled into fame and featured on the covers of magazines and attended film premieres as well as taking part in a number of press promotions and radio interviews. They became some of the most talked about stars in the UK.
Darius became an incredibly popular contestant and built up a large fanbase of his own. He almost made it to the final week, just losing out in the semi final and coming third to Gareth Gates, in second place, and Will Young, the winner.
"This is not the end ... it's just the beginning" he announced as he was voted off.

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As part of his Pop Idol experience Darius also recorded the track "Let There Be Love" for their Big Band compilation album which was released in 2002. He then embarked on a tour with the rest of the final 10 playing to packed out arenas across the country and he was right, it was just the beginning...