Fashioning Modern Africanism

In an emotional climax to  Idols SA 's farewell season, Thabo was announced as the final victor of the show, marking the end of an era for Mzansi's longest-running talent search show. After electrifying audiences for 19 seasons, the stage of Mosaïek Teatro in Johannesburg saw its last notes echoed by the undeniable talent of the final contestants. At 26, the Witbank-born  singer  has shown that embracing one's true self can lead to greatness. From sharing stages with gospel icons to now holding the title of the last South African Idol, Thabo's journey has been one of courage, faith, and unyielding talent. His final performances, including the soulful  A Thousand Years , the powerful  Lakutshon Ilanga  and now his first single i Slungu  , not only won him the title but  the hearts of fans. Thabo's victory was not just symbolic but came with life-changing prizes. The crown of the final South African Idol brings with it R1-million cash from Mzansi Magic, a new Toyota V

After two weeks of stellar performances from the top 12 and over 7.5 million viewer votes garnered, the   Idols SA   season 18 top 10 has been decided. They are: CeeJay, Kabelo, Lerato, Mpilwenhle, Noxolo, Nozi, Tesmin-Robyn, Thapelo, Ty Loner, and Zee.  Na rrowly missing out were Hope and Nandi.   Opening the live show was Mpilwenhle performing Amanda Black’s hit   Kahle , to unanimous praise from the judges. Somizi Mhlongo said: “You are living your name: impilo yinhle. You deserve to be where you are.”   JR Bogopa added: “Clearly, South Africa did not make a mistake. You were born for that stage.”   Next to be announced was Thapelo, who sang Celine Dion’s classic   All By Myself . The judges were happy with his performance, with Thembi Seete saying: “I know why Mzansi is falling in love with you – it’s because you are yourself. The approach you took to the song was perfect for you.”   Tesmin-Robyn sang Moneoa’s   More Than You , getting a lukewarm response from the judges. Somizi ca

It’s official:   Idols SA   will be back for an impressive 18 th   season this year. Returning to the judges’ chair is fan favourite Somizi Mhlongo, and he will be joined by two new judges: the triple threat pop culture icon Thembi Seete and rapper-producer extraordinaire JR Bogopa. The award-winning, co-executive producer Tebogo 'ProVerb' Thekisho will return to host the music competition reality show for his 13 th  season.   Making a comeback to his seat as the most famous competition judge in the country, Somizi Mhlongo is a multitalented choreographer, reality TV star and actor whose  Idols SA  catchphrase ‘Whooo shem!’ is loved by many.   Known for his vibey energy, dramatic dress sense and honest critique as a judge, Mhlongo will dazzle our screens yet again as he ushers in a new era for the show and guides a new crop of talent.   An acclaimed actor, dancer and musician who has been part of South Africa’s pop culture fabric since the 1990s, Thembi Seete is known for her c

Idols SA season 17-theatre week has ended and the cream has risen to the top. This week, viewers saw the first of a two-part episode in which the judges concluded their job of choosing the first eight of the top 16 finalists. It was a tense final judgment day for the 30 remaining Idols SA hopefuls, who delivered their final solo auditions in front of a carefully selected audience. “The final audition was tough on the contestants and we had to eliminate some very good singers. Their only downfall was buckling under the pressure of the competition. Selecting the top 16 was a brutal affair, but we have selected an exceptional group of singers and they have set a very high standard for themselves,” Said Randall Abrahams. The first to make it to the top 16 was 18-year-old Bulelani, who had sailed through his first two theatre week performances. The judges were impressed with his rendition of   ‘247’   by Mnqobi Yazo. Kevin also made the cut after performing Giveon’s   ‘Stuck on You’ . The 2

By Zeeba Masombuka                                               The views expressed on this article are of the writer, they do not represent the publication. I took a moment to catch up with Idols SA season 17 theatre group performances. Boy oh boy I ended up with mixed views, let's unpack them; I don't know if this [is a] part of the show to crush hopefuls even before they can realise they're top what-what, they're gone. Maybe this is what the show thrives on, but it's not ON. Those contestants sweat short lived like that. NOT CUTE!  I know it's a competition and also a reality show [which means that some things will be exaggerated to revoke a reactio7n]. But for Idols SA the latter seems to be the crux of the show, especially their theatre stages. If that is the case Idols SA must own it. Must own that their show's group stages is a reality hyped up part of the competition. And that would be okay.  The same goes for the judge's meanness. Tjoeeeeee! Yo

In the most brutal day of theatre week history, 66 Idols SA contestants saw their journey to stardom cut short on day one as the judges picked the best from the good. The open audition for season 17 had seen more than 100 Idols hopefuls make it to theatre week, but the jubilation was short-lived as the pressure took its toll on the contestants. Judges Randall Abrahams, Somizi Mhlongo and Unathi Nkayi made it clear that lukewarm performances were not going be tolerated. Day one of theatre week comprised of chorus line auditions accompanied by a pianist, with the Idols hopefuls divided according to the song they had selected. The audition songs included Kelly Khumalo’s  ‘Uthando’  and Amanda Black’s  ‘Separate’ . “Too many people forgot their lyrics and the arrangement of the song,” said Unathi, reflecting on day one of theatre week’s performances. Randall was equally disappointed. He said, “One song, that is all everyone had to learn and yet so many of them failed. If you fail at that,

Day three of auditions for SA Idols season 17 brought yet another week of tears of joy and disappointment. In addition, there were plenty of laughs and birthday balloons on stage as the judges sifted the good from the bad, paving the way for dreams of stardom to come true. This week’s guest judge was one of South Africa’s greatest talents, Ringo Madlingozi. He took a day off from the world of politics and Parliament to help select the best singing talent South Africa has to offer. For Randall Abrahams, Somizi Mhlongo and Unathi Nkayi, the day brought with it some pleasant surprises as they – assisted by Ringo –  dished out 24 golden tickets. The day may have started with a no as 22-year-old Karabo Mogola from Pretoria failed to make the cut. However, there were plenty of golden tickets, with several Idols hopefuls managing to secure a full house of nods. Twenty-two-year-old Katiso “Kat” from Johannesburg rolled in with his roller skates and falsetto to clinch the first golden ticket of

It continued to rain gold on day two of Idols SA season 17 auditions, with 31 entrants securing that all-important golden ticket to theatre week. Unfortunately, for the many others selected to appear before the judges – the dream ended far too soon and they will be watching the show on TV like the rest of Mzansi. This week, judges Randall Abrahams, Somizi Mhlongo-Motaung and Unathi Nkayi were joined by a new guest judge, award-winning gospel artist Ntokozo Mbambo, as they weeded out the good from the bad and downright scary. The first golden ticket winner was 16 year-old Zukisa from Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal, who felt he had something unique to put out there, which was not yet out there. After his rendition of Ami Faku’s  Ubuhle Bakho , Unathi said his audition was beautiful. “Your voice is rich, your range is wide, your delivery is sincere, what else should I want?” An overwhelmed Zukisa garnered enough votes to get a golden ticket with a hope of following in the footsteps of

Season 17 premiered on Sunday 11 July 2021 with guest judge Prince KayBee joining the Idols SA judges, Randall Abrahams, Somizi Mhlongo and Unathi Nkayi for the first judges’ auditions. The show’s host and co-executive producer, Proverb was also present to ensure that the contestants gave us feedback about their auditions.  Linathi was the first aspirant to take centre stage. Through her beautiful audition, the show was off to a great start. We got the first four yeses and first golden ticket of the judges' auditions.  Golden tickets were dished out, and more contestants marked a spot for themselves to attend Theatre Week.  After some positive auditions, things started to take a different turn.  It surely would not have been a complete show without Somgaga dishing out words from his personal and unique dictionary. He used unfamiliar words such a "phelled" or "bedanger" There was also 30-year-old Berry, who is a second time lucky contestant. She made it to the to

Zwai Legendary Kwaito artist, producer and musical director Zwai Bala and renowned singer, producer and Member of Parliament Ringo Madlingozi are among the guest judges as the popular talent search show   Idols SA   returns for its 17 th   season this Sunday. Ringo The much anticipated return of the IdolsSA, which attracted a record 15 000 online entrants, will heat up viewers’ living room this winter as  Idols SA  hopefuls belt it out to impress the guest judges as well as the show’s resident judges. Reality TV star, musician and choreographer Somizi Mhlongo, musician, radio and TV personalities Unathi Nkayi and Randall Abrahams, Rapper, radio and TV personality and the show’s co-executive producer Proverb also returns as the show’s host. Idols SA  will start with the airing of all online auditions on Mzansi Magic (DStv channel 161) this Sunday, 11 July 2021 at 17:30. Somizi “We are excited that South Africa’s most-loved talent search show ,  Idols SA ,  returns this Sunday to enterta

  Idols SA 2021 will have a completely different composition for season 17 auditions. The current status quo does not allow us to do things the traditional way. Therefore, to keep up with the spirit of staying apart so we can be together again, the Idols auditions this year will deviate from the culture of hosting auditions in four big cities, namely Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town.  For season 17, there is a positive aspect in the restrictions that come with Covid-19. All eligible hopefuls from all corners of our country can enter without worrying about getting to the audition's venue. However, there will be strict rules to adhere to in order to have a successful submission for the SA Idols online auditions. The video must be 30 seconds long of just singing. All other information will have a part where it is catered for on the entry. It is important for the participants to prepare their 30-second-long clip and all the relevant information before they log on to submit 

The show opened with the top four being paired with four of South Africa’s gospel greats for some spiritually uplifting performances that bowled over the judges. ZanoThando was first with a duet with Dr Rebecca Malope. The performance injected a huge dose of energy as they belted out Rebecca’s hit,  ‘Ngegazi Lemvana’.  Randall Abrahams gave ZanoThando the thumbs up, saying the performance proved last week was not a fluke. “You did really well on  ‘Angelina’  last week and … you really did well on this,” he  said. Both Unathi Nkayi and Somizi Mhlongo-Motaung were in agreement, with Unathi adding that the judges had been hard on him over the weeks because they had seen his potential. Unfortunately, though, ZanoThando bowed out of the competition, having failed to gain enough of the 21 million votes cast to guarantee him a spot in the top three. Brandon was paired with Benjamin Dube in a performance of ‘ El-Shaddai Adonai’   that Randall described using words once used for American music