– and then there are the Idols SA 2016 ladies!
The eight female powerhouses made an entrance to remember when they
opened Season 12's live voting shows at Pretoria's State Theatre with
a sexy, yet classy, delivery of Rihanna's Work. Looking relaxed in
black skinny pants, white shirts and Aztec printed ponchos, they owned
the stage and held the audience spellbound during the opening
sequence. Talk about a memorable first impression!
As if Pretoria was not hot enough, Durban's Afrotainment crew brought
their own heat on stage; culminating in the Queen of Gqom, Babes
Wodumo, performing her runaway chart topper Wololo. If anyone was in
any doubt that Idols SA always bring the blaze, the first 20 minutes
completely obliterated that!
The evening's theme was "Hits of the Last Decade" and soon enough, the
eight ladies came on stage to introduce themselves to Mzansi and
seduce Idols faithfuls into falling in love and voting for them.
Valentine kicked things off with Beyonce's Halo. Considering she was
belting out a favourite on Queen Bey's birthday, Valentine had a lot
riding on the performance. It paid off. Gareth said she stood out
among the other roses, Somizi wanted her to find her Sasha Fierce
"Matlakala", Unathi called the performance emotive and Randall
congratulated her on choosing the perfect song to open the Top 16.
Things were off to a great start at the State Theatre.
Lucia followed with Adele's Send My Love (To Your New Lover). Somizi
said she has a great range and called her a future seasoned vocalist,
Unathi warned that SA can be unforgiving and ruthless at this stage so
Lucia needs to be on point with her delivery, Randall said it was safe
and good but needed to be memorable, and Gareth agreed with him.
Bringing things home was Sgherdeed, who was a ball of dancing energy
on stage while performing Deep in the Bottom by Black Coffee feat.
Monique Bingham. Unathi complimented her on her interpretation both
vocally and performance-wise, Randall said the performance was good
but the voice quite flat, Gareth thought the song choice might not
have been so great at this "critical" stage and Somizi said he got
lost somewhere along Sgherdeed's performance.
Coming in with a fighter spirit was Luke, performing Yoga by Jhanelle
Mone feat. Jadena. Randall called the song choice "ambitious" but that
Luke fell short, Gareth concurred with his fellow judge, Somizi felt
she was restricted by the heels and uncomfortable, while Unathi
thought nerves got the better of her.
Noma slowed things down with a deeply moving rendition of Rihanna's
Stay feat. Mikky Ekko. The goosebump-o-metre in the theatre went off
the charts as she got a standing ovation. Gareth asked her to trust
the musicians she way playing with, Somizi said not only is she gifted
but has a beautiful soul as well, Unathi called the performance
absolutely perfect and could barely contain her emotions, and Randall
could not fault her but asked Noma to be more aware of her mic
technique.
The lady with the intense facial expressions, Siyakha, brought the
energy back up with local hit Valelisa by Trademark and Zinhle Ngidi.
Somizi, who is unashamedly her biggest fan on the judges' panel, said
she was the girl to watch. Unathi called her voice incredible but felt
distracted by her dancing, Randall believe she had done a better job
of standing out than other contestants and Gareth said it was
impossible to take his eyes off her.
Amanda was effortless in her performance of Ariana Grande's Dangerous
Woman. Unathi called her a dangerous woman, Randall gushed that it was
the right song, she had presence and was emotive enough, Gareth called
it his performance of the night, and Somizi was left speechless.
Nosihe closed up the show with Beyonce's XO. Randall said her nerves
got the better of her and in turn, she gave an average performance.
Gareth said the song was a grade or two below expectation, Somizi said
she was going to need Mzansi to forgive her so that they can keep her
in. Unathi was certain that she was going to stay because Mzansi loves
her despite her average week.
So who made a good impression? Who did Mzansi fall in love with at
first sight? Well, we have a little time to wait because next week we
have the eight guys who make up the Top 16 take their turn to seduce
South Africa for votes. Don't miss it!
Idols SA season 12 is on Mzansi Magic, DStv channel 161 on Sundays at 17h30.
