For the first time in the history of Idols SA, there are three guys doing the battle in the make-or-break Top 3 round and at this week’s Spectacular show at the Moreleta Park Church Auditorium in Pretoria, they had to pull out all the stops to convince the voting public that they deserve to be in the final bout, which will determine this year’s winner.
SONKE MAZIBUKO (21) from Soweto, MUSA SUKWENE (26) from eMalahleni and BRENDEN LEDWABA (19) from Graskop each performed three songs: one number of their own choosing, one chosen for them by the Idols judges and one chosen by Idols Musical Director RJ Benjamin.
Sonke chose the South African classic “Burn Out”, from Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse to kick off the show. For the judges’ round he performed Randall Abrahams’s choice, “Turn Me On” from David Guetta (featuring Nicki Minaj). “What a horrible song choice!” Gareth Cliff joked. But on a serious note, he was surprised at how good the performance was because he thought that song was out of Sonke’s comfort zone. “Today you’re back, today you’re bold, today you’re in power,” Unathi praised. Randall liked Sonke’s performance of his first song but he thought the song was a bit dated. And in the second performance he said he would have liked Sonke to be a bit more playful. For the third round RJ chose DeBarge’s “Rhythm of the Night”. “That was a lot of fun!” Gareth said. Unathi commented that Sonke has a talent to make a dated song sound current and relevant. “That wasn’t good. You forgot the words, you were flat,” Randall pronounced, and he warned that Sonke might be in trouble for Tuesday’s Results Show.
To vote for Sonke, SMS the number 06 to 37400. [R1.50 per text] or vote online via mobile or web at mnet.co.za/idolssa, for free.
Fans can also vote on Mxit [25 moola].
Follow Sonke on Twitter at the handle @sonke_mazibuko
MUSA also went with a local hit for his first round, “Inkomo”, by The Soil, and Unathi Msengana’s choice for him was “Meropa”, a remix of an old Mahotella Queens song by Oskido and Brothers of Peace. “You’re in your element, man,” Gareth told Musa. “There’s very little that can put you off your game.” Unathi said she thought Musa gave South Africa what they wanted: high-intensity songs, and the audience cheered in agreement. “I think that two up-tempo songs did you the world of good,” Randall agreed. In the final round RJ chose “Love” by Musiq Soulchild for Musa. Gareth thought it was a very safe song choice for Musa, “but that’s not so say you didn’t do that perfectly,” he said. “That was exactly right from beginning to end,” he said. Unathi said it reminded people of Musa’s true strength – to stand there and command respect. Randall was impressed that Musa showed off his high notes and he recommended that he select songs that will show his full range if he makes it to the Top 2.
To vote for Musa, SMS the number 09 to 37400. [R1.50 per text] or vote online via mobile or web at mnet.co.za/idolssa, for free.
Fans can also vote on Mxit [25 moola].
Follow Musa on Twitter at the handle @musathevoice
BRENDEN’s first round song was Miguel’s “Do You” and Gareth Cliff’s choice for Brendan was Justin Bieber’s “Beauty and a Beat”. Gareth noted that all the judges’s song choices were designed to take the contestants out of their comfort zone, and to demonstrate how good they are at handling anything. “And ours were the best!” he joked. Unathi remarked that Brenden knows how to use his voice and he knows how to cater to his audience. “Masterclass. That what you’ve just given this country,” she declared. “That Miguel song almost guarantees that you’ll be in the final,” Randall commented, but he did notice a few pitching problems in the second performance. And the third round song that RJ chose for Brenden was “Locked Out of Heaven” from Bruno Mars. “I love that song,” said Gareth. He said usually at this stage of the competition things can get so serious, and Brenden brought some fun. “It was very soulful,” Unathi said. “Really, really good song choice, great performance …” Randall said. “For the life of me I can’t see why you wouldn’t be in the final.”
To vote for Brenden, SMS the number 01 to 37400. [R1.50 per text] or vote online via mobile or web at mnet.co.za/idolssa, for free.
Fans can also vote on Mxit [25 moola].
Follow Brenden on Twitter at the handle @brenden_praise
Voting for the Top 3 opened at the start of tonight’s show and will close on Monday night, 18 November, at 22:00. On Tuesday, 19 November, the two finalists for Idols Season 9 will be revealed ahead of the big Finalé on Tuesday, 26 November.
To stay on top of the latest Idols SA news and to find out how the voting works, visit the Idols website at www.mnet.co.za/Idols or go to the official Facebook page at “Idols South Africa”, or follow Idols on Twitter @IdolsSA.
Idols SA is a co-production between M-Net and Mzansi Magic and comes your way twice a week: on Sundays at 17:30 and Tuesdays at 19:30.