Some folks handled their nerves better than others.
Idols returned for its 12 season on Sunday at 17h30 (19 July) for an exclusive run on Mzansi Magic for the first time. The season started with a close-up on the Durban auditions where over 2000 wannabes took their place to be heard.
Here's a recap of the episode by the show:
Some of the most notable hopefuls included Luke Tombola, from Estcourt East. With her angelic smile and never-say-die attitude, the 26 year-old singer returned to Idols SA for a personal record 5
th audition. Buoyed by the fact that she had been part of Robbie Malanga’s team in Clash of the Choirs, her confidence was at its peak when she stepped in front of the judges.
Her determination payed off as she came out of the audition room clutching a Golden Ticket after getting a yes from all four judges. Now the waitress is ready to serve South Africa her velvety voice.
Another contestant who made an impression, except for her “mature” dress sense, was the soft-spoken Nosihe Zulu, 28, from Pietermaritzburg, whose 10 year-old brother Joshua picked her audition song. His prediction that his sister would bowl the judges over with Adele’s When We Were Young turned out to be as spot-on as the forecasts by Paul The Octopus during the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
She got three nods from the judges, but Randall couldn’t be swayed from his opinion that she was not strong enough. Still, Nosihe got her ticket.
But it was the contestants who performed original compositions who left Randall, Unathi, Somizi and Gareth with their jaws on the floor - and not in a good way. Notably, Phumzile Washusha.
Her version of a Zulu love song lamenting a lost love had the judges in no doubt why the estranged lover had run away in the first place. But that didn’t stop Somizi from staging an impromptu dance-off with her, ending the performance limp in the arms of the singer.
And who will forget the “repeat offender” who came to demand what he said was rightfully his? The Wooden Mic that never made it to his mantelpiece after it was “faxed” through!
PS: Nqobile who collapsed has fully recovered from the stress.