Fashioning Modern Africanism

It was another music double header with the Idols  SA hopefuls performing twice. For their first performances, they showed the wooden mic contenders – and the rest of Mzansi – how it should be performed, bringing back to life songs that had suffered horrible deaths during the audition rounds. In the second half of the show, they sang Mzansi’s most Shazamed hits. With Ntokozo sadly out of the running after she was eliminated in last night’s show, Ndoni, Mr Music, Zama, Brandon and ZanoThando will now need to ensure they woo her fans to gain those extra votes. And if the judges’ comments are anything to go by, they lived up to their expectations. The powerhouse Ndoni opened the evening with Berita’s  ‘Ndicel’ ikiss’  and before returning later to perform  ‘Senzeni’  by DJ Manzo SA. Randall Abrahams said she was sufficiently unique to always have a fighting chance in the competition, while Unathi Nkayi said she had been phenomenal. Somizi Mhlongo-Motaung was ecstatic, saying she had kille

As the search continues for the 16 th   Idols SA winner, the competition is getting tougher, with the contestants continuing to impress with their exceptional talent.  However, there can only be one winner and as impressive as Be was last week, she became the second contestant in the top 10 to say goodbye to that dream, having failed to secure enough votes to progress to the top eight. But for the remaining contestants, it was yet another week to bring on their A-game.   Last night, the top eight paid homage to those who are still new to the music industry but are owning their space. Performing under the theme “New kids on the block”, the Idols SA hopefuls had the judges full of praise, proving that they too will soon be claiming their space in the music industry.   Performing Zandi Khumalo’s  ‘NgiyaKhuthanda’,  Bongi started the show on a high note – with the judges praising her warmly for her performance. Randall Abrahams said sticking with the ballads was working for her, but highli

Lastnight, IdolsSA was intense with the contestants  starting to  show their versatility and hunger to win it as they performed under the theme ‘lockdown hits’. It's some of the contestants song choice for me that will fail them. Song choice plays a key part at this stage of the competition. Mzansi want to see versatility and be blown away. Only a few of the contestants managed to pull flammable performances that will earn them the viewers votes.  Jooma, the first to be named as part of the top 9, was first to perform, singing Loyiso’s  ‘Madoda  Sabelani’.  While Unathi Nkayi merely thanked him on behalf of the women of South Africa, Randall Abrahams advised him to “change it up” for more variety even as he commended him, calling him a good vocalist. Somizi Mhlongo-Motaung praised the performance, saying it was enough to take him to the finals and beyond. Bongi was next with  ‘Stand Up’  by Cynthia Erivo. Unathi said it was a beautiful performance, while Somizi said her performance

Last week sunday IdolsSA show brought with it a few firsts of the season – the first round of live-show eliminations for Idols SA Season 16, as well as the first of the shows to have a live audience, much to the excitement of the judges.  Unfortunately, though, after two weeks of exceptional performances, it was the end of the road for six of the contestants as the top 10 was announced.  The Top 10, as chosen by the voters, is made up of ZanoThando, Brandon, Succedor, Mr Music, Zama, Ntokozo, Be, Bongi, Jooma and Ndoni. Of course, there were surprises, with judge Somizi Mhlongo-Motaung saying there are people in the Top 10 that he did not expect to make it through, and Randall Abrahams and Unathi Nkayi saying they are glad that they do not have to be the ones voting. “We give the comments about the singing, South Africans fall in love with the voices,” Randall said. During last week's show, idols alumni Lungisa Xhamela and Nozipho, Loyiso Gijana and Rethabile Khumalo joined the lik