With just two weeks to go before the Idols SA season 18 winner is crowned, and after last week’s top four enjoyed a coastal adventure in Cape Town, the show have reached the most anticipated stage of the competition yet: the top three.
Making the cut, after over 15 million viewer votes this week, are: Mpilo, Nozi and Thapelo, with Ty Loner’s road unfortunately coming to an end.
With a nuanced yet uplifting live show in front of a packed Heartfelt Arena in Tshwane, the finalists performed three songs each. To paraphrase host ProVerb, that was triple the music for viewers – but also triple the pressure for the singers.
For their first song, contestants performed the track they first auditioned with. The next round saw them performing classic diva hits, and the final songs were chosen by the judges.
Nozi kicked things off with Daniel Caesar and H.E.R.’s Best Part. “It was like we were at your concert, and you sang it like Nozi would sing it,” said Somizi.
Her next song was Aretha Franklin’s Try a Little Tenderness, a performance JR Bogopa called “spectacular”. Nozi’s final song was Andra Day’s Rise Up, with Thembi Seete praising her: “You’ve proven yourself week after week. You understand that this is a competition.”
For her first performance, Mpilo sang Maleh’s Ke Mo Afrika, with JR saying: “You are unmatched and are one of the best [vocalists] in the country.”
Next, she took on Angel of Mine by Monica, a performance Thembi called “amazing”. Mpilo’s final showing of the night was Jill Scott’s A Long Walk. “There’s one thing you have that not a lot of people have: stage presence and charisma,” said Somizi.
For his first song, Thapelo revisited Kelly Khumalo’s Esphambanweni, which saw Thembi calling him “gifted”.
His next song was Michael Bolton’s rendition of When a Man Loves a Woman, which Somizi wasn’t too impressed with: “Just because you’ve got a great voice, it doesn’t mean your vocals fit in every genre.”
Thapelo closed the show with Luther Vandross’s So Amazing, a performance JR called “spot on”, saying: “You spoke to a lot of people’s souls, but it wasn’t the most punchy or powerful. It got the job done.”
The Idols SA season 18 finale is around the corner, and the top three will be recording their solo singles produced by Kalawa Jazmee from tomorrow. Next week’s show will see the eliminated top 10 contestants gracing the stage – it’s set to be a scorcher.
Tickets to be in the audience for the Idols SA live shows are now on sale onComputicket (https://tickets.computicket.
Idols SA is on Mzansi Magic, Sundays at 17h00. For more information visit our website: http://www.idolssa.tv