Idols SA winner Berry
With over 12.5 million votes cast for the season 17 Idols South Africa finale, Berry has been crowned the winner.
The singer beat out thousands of contestants and the runner-up Karabo.
Berry is walking away with a recording deal with Kalawa Jazmee Records, a Renault Kiger valued at over R269,000, R100,000 in Truworths fashion vouchers, a bachelor of business administration bursary valued at over R260,000 from Regenesys Business School, an R85,000 worth of musical equipment from Yamaha, as well as a Samsung Galaxy Fold 3 on a Vodacom Red 100GB plan.
The finale was filled with top performances from artists such as Musa Keys, Sir Trill, Mafikizolo and Oskido.
Last year’s winner, Zama, performed Is’thunzi, from her debut album, In the Beginning. Runner-up Karabo isn’t walking away empty-handed.
Her prizes include R50,000 in an Old Mutual Money Account, R50,000 cash from Vodacom, R50,000 in Truworths fashion vouchers and a Regenesys Business School bursary for a higher certificate in business management worth R87,000.
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Her full name is Berenike Trytsma. She was born in May 1990 and is from Cape Town.
She is married to Renier Trytsman, who is also a musician. Berry calls herself a bonus mom as she has two stepkids. She also has a son from a previous relationship and the couple has a two-year-old daughter.
During the competition in the top-16 stage, Berry said she loved cooking, baking and writing songs with her partner. Her favourite South African music legends include Karen Zoid, Tarryn Lamb and Lira.
When asked which musicians she would love to work with, living or dead, she answered Kelly Clarkson and the late Elvis Presley.
Her time during the singing competition has been insightful as she made a lot of friends during the process.
She described herself as a happy person, always having a smile on her face in hopes to make others happy. Berry is close to Karabo and the two competitors have become friends.
She posted: “Cheers to us my friend. Dreams do come true and God answers prayers.
“I’m so grateful that our paths crossed and I’ll always remember our laughing sessions and just being silly with you. It honestly made this entire journey even better.”
The two finalists have entered Idols SA before. Berry entered in 2010 only reaching the top 30, while Karabo entered in season 12 at just 17, in 2016.