Idols SA in all its unpredictability
Loyiso Gijana’s exit from the Idols SA competition came as a shock to South Africans, and a wake-up call to fans for them to take voting seriously.
This 16-year-old’s fall from the wagon caused social media row with people defending their preferred candidates for the title.
First to open the show was the only lady left in the competition, Mmatema Moremi, who gave her rendition of Celine Deon’s “Because You Love Me.” A performance which had Gareth Cliff agreeing to when he said to Mmatema “they love you.”
Not all the judges agreed though, Somizi was not entirely impressed and told her that the song was “saved by saved by your amazing voice.”
For her second performance of the night, Mmatema did Fantasia’s “Lose To Win” which had Unathi thinking it was too Gospel-y.
Second to grace the stage with Lira’s Feel Good, was the local music fanatic contestant, Siphelele Ngcobo. He followed it up with Ringo Madlingozi’s “Kum naKum”.
This 24-year-old has been winning South Africa’s hearts by keeping it local for some time now, and it seems to be working for him.Somizi brought some laughter to the house when he said: “It’s performances like this that keep the people of the Kingdom of the Zulu, the Kingdom of Heaven, so proud of you.”
Karabo Mogane got our hearts pumping fast when he reminded us that it’s “So Amazing To Be Loved”, a beautifully rendered ballad by Luther Vandross. He seems to have won over Somizi Mhlongo more though, it was evident through his comment. “If your voice was a car, I would hijack it, steal it, and run!”
His second performance of James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s World” had Randall Abrahams uttering just two words, “Thank you.” It seems like Karabo has got his eyes on the ball and he’s all about base with no treble.
The last one to serenade the crowd was Rhema Varrie, who gave a stunning rendition of Etta James’ “I’d Rather Go Blind”, and had the house chanting his name out loud. His second performance though was a little bit questionable.
He went for Marvin Gaye’s Sexual Healing, and Somizi told him some songs require experience before they can be properly executed. “Some songs you need to experience the lyrics before you sing it. One day.”
“Randall reminded Rhema that “there’s a big huge gap between emoting and emotion.”
The performances were altogether on a beautiful level, this being the third last week before the grand finale; vigorous votes will be the only thing sustaining these contestants in the competition.
They jetted off to London this week for an awesome musical experience.
This week’s theme is ‘My Idol’ which will see the contestants performing two songs from their icons in the industry. Check out www.idolssa.dstv.com for more details on how to vote for your preferred idol for this year’s title.
