Fashioning Modern Africanism

Tapping into music their parents grew up listening to, the  Idols SA  season 18 top 8 took us on a dazzling trip down memory lane with some of the world’s greatest hits from artists such as The Beatles, Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey.    With over 7 million votes this week, Mzansi decided that their top 8 was: Nozi, CeeJay, Zee, Kabelo, Ty Loner, Thapelo, Mpilo and Noxolo. Sadly, Tesmin-Robyn’s  Idols SA  journey came to an end.    The show started off with an electrifying group performance paying tribute to kwaito legends TKZee. The top 8 had the Heartfelt Arena on their feet with an upbeat medley of  Dlala Mapantsula, Phala Fala, Fiasco  and  Shibobo .    Amapiano sensation Pabi Cooper kept the momentum going with an energetic performance of  Banyana ke bafana  and  Waga Bietjie .    Starting off was Nozi, who delivered Roberta Flack’s  The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face  — this was her father’s high school crush.    Somizi Mhlongo, who gave Nozi a standing ovation, said: “There’s

There is a new twist in this year’s search for the next  Idols SA  winner – season 18’s live performances will kick off with 12 contestants vying for the top spot as opposed to the usual top 10. This is following a pressure-filled and gruelling few weeks for contestants, who have made it through the famously tough theatre week The top 12 were announced in tonight’s episode, a two-hour show that showcased the highly impressive top 32 performances – evidence of the tough competition contestants faced. Making it even tougher was the surprise reveal that, instead of the traditional top 16 at this stage of the show, this year’s competition would cut the number down to 12, who would then perform in the live shows starting next week.  The judges – Somizi Mhlongo, Thembi Seete and JR Bogopa – have done their bit: from Sunday 28 August, it’s in viewers’ hands, where votes will determine who stays and who goes home. Without further ado, here are the top 12 contestants for  Idols SA  season 18. 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

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,

Johannesburg, 6 August 2021: M-Net and Mr Somizi Mhlongo met to discuss his role on Idols SA in light of the allegations made against him by his estranged husband Mohale Motaung. According to then statement released today by The channel. They have reached a mutual agreement that Mr Mhlongo will take some time off to deal with his personal circumstances until this matter has been resolved.   Viewers will still see Mr Mhlongo on their screens until Sunday, 22 August 2021, as the audition shows for Idols SA were pre-recorded.  We've reached out to the channel's representative regarding Somizi's replacement but the answers were not given to us. The channel promised to announce the new judge who will be joining Unathi and Randal within the next 2 week.  Somizi posted a statement regarding the allegations on his instagram. See below

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

  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

Last night’s top four Idols SA hopefuls showed that   local is   lekker   as they tried to win the hearts and votes of their fans that they have what it takes to be the next South African idol. The contestants paid homage to the music stable that might just be their home if they win the competition –  Kalawa Jazmee – and performed songs by artists who have been part of the record label over the years. The second half of the show featured a favourite from last year – The Mzansi Gay Choir. Having said goodbye to Ndoni, who did not manage to win enough votes to make it into the top four, the remaining contestants pulled off a spectacular show, displaying just how badly they want to advance to the next stage. ZanoThando opened the evening’s performances on a high note, receiving all round praises for his first performance –  ‘Via Orlando’  by DJ Vetkuk vs Mahoota featuring Dr Malinga. Randall Abrahams commended him for the brilliant song choice, which allowed him to focus on his strengths.