The Idols wannabes reached a benchmark on Sunday night (21 August) when the competition boiled down to the last performance day of Theatre Week.
Here's a recap of the highs and lows by the show:
After hours of standing in audition queues, the thrill of receiving a Golden Ticket, the suspense of the journey to Theatre Week, the heartbreak of watching new friends depart in tears, the anxiety of knowing your dream is within reach … it finally come down to this: the last performance day of Theatre Week.
37 contestants were left standing after the brutal culling that took place over the first solo and group rounds. Nerves were frayed, voices were strained and exhaustion had set in. But there was no time for rest and relaxation for the hopeful popstars, as knocks were heard on their hotel room doors at ungodly hours.
The special delivery? An envelope for each one with the name of the song they will be singing, selected by the judges. After 24hrs of frantic rehearsals, arrangements, vocal coaching and sound checks, it was time for the contestants to step on stage and face not only the judges, but a large audience for the first time this season.
No pressure then!
First up was
Nontobeko “Luke” Ntombela (27) singing Zahara’s Imali. After she barely scraped through during the group round, she was determined to nail this performance of a lifetime. And she did. Gareth rated it highly, calling the performance confident, engaging and beautiful.
Somizi called her tone “haunting” and Randall agreed that her confidence shone through. Unathi simply thanked her.
It was off to a good start on this last day.
Sazi Mqingwana (24) impressed Gareth with Adele’s When We Were Young, with the judge saying it was “exciting listening to you sing”.
More compliments started rolling. Unathi said 20 year-old
Alicia Van Wyk’s voice was “insane” and she “owned” Beyoncé’s Dance for You.
Matthew Gardiner (19) also received high praise from Somizi: “You will sell. There’s a gap for people like you in the industry.”
Randall complimented
Tebogo Louw (24) for the first time and Unathi told
Lucia Jakeni (26) that she was becoming more and more memorable with each round.
Valentine Mathe (20) got an overall great response from everyone, while Somizi told
Tersius “Terra” Kocks (28) that “your performance was as tight as those jeans!”
But it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. While some contestants were left smiling, others were left nervous by the judges’ comments.
Keamogetswe Msiza (19) did not impress when she sang I Bet by Ciara. “I couldn’t wait for the performance to finish,” said Randall.
Lindokuhle Sithole (20) performed Bruno Mars’ Just the Way You Are, to which Gareth critiqued: “The vocal was nasal and you let yourself down.”
For
Sandile Ngcamu (18) things looked even bleaker when he simply gave up on The Man by Aloe Blacc. “Judging by your own reaction, you know you’re not the man,” was Gareth’s sombre response.
Now it remains to be seen who will emerge victorious in this battle of wills, wits, and voices. Will past performances tally up to save those who didn’t do so great during the last great stretch? Will those who redeemed themselves during the last performance triumph?
Who should make the Top 16?