Idols South Africa Power Ranking: We Rank The Top 8
We’re down to the final eight on the show everybody loves to hate, the show named Idols that makes hate watching fun for a lot of viewers.
Justine and I rank the remaining eight after Elwira Standili’s departure on Sunday. An elimination that probably should have felt more like a surprise than it did.
As usual, our ranking goes from last to first.
Reinhardt: Siphelele Ngcobo – this does not require any further explanation.
Justine: Siphelele Ngcobo – Siphelele is so charming and I really wish I could be a fan of his performances but he has been found wanting for a couple of weeks now. He has difficulty connecting with his songs and lacks some much-needed confidence. His support on social media has declined slightly from previous weeks but I doubt he will indeed be eliminated.
Reinhardt: Amanda Antony – Amanda doesn’t deserve to be this low. She’s Top 5 material. But like Elwira, Amanda is a better vocalist than she is a performer, as witnessed during her performance of “Paradise Road” on Sunday. Good vocal but struggling to connect, and I feel like she’s struggling to connect with the viewers as well. She might even go home on Sunday.
Justine: Lungisa Xhamela – Based on his performance, Lungisa should be a lot higher up the list but for some reason he is not well-liked. Vocally I find him a lot stronger and more marketable than the other guys but he needs to seriously connect to the audience if he wants to survive in this brutal competition.
Reinhardt: Lungisa Xhamela – the wildcard has really been struggling ever since the start of live shows, but his acapella reimagining of “Time After Time” was something on the cusp of special. It was a really strong performance, but it might be a little too late. The performance also went over a lot of viewers’ heads, unfortunately. He’s also in danger of going home this week, but I’m fairly certain my bottom 3 will go home during the next 3 weeks.
Justine: Amanda Antony – Amanda should be ranked higher than Dineo based on her performances but the latter seems to have a larger and more loyal support base. I actually fear for Ms Antony this week because Siphelele seems to have more lives than your average domestic cat.
Reinhardt: Dineo Moseki – A stronger performer than she is a singer. Her performance of Bryan Adams’ “Heaven” was solid if underwhelming. But this tiny person has the fans to push her into the Top 3, where I expect she could land. She’s out of her depth vocally, but there’s no doubt she has star quality.
Justine: Dineo Moseki – Dineo went from one of the most promising girls to one barely scraping through her performances. This girl has great potential and a fan base who firmly believe in her and I can see her at least making the Top 5.
Reinhardt: Rhema Varrie – A stronger singer than he is a performer. Quite the opposite of a Dineo, the dude has the voice but rarely the star quality. He needs to loosen up, relax even more, and get pumped. Just have some chill. He’s a dark horse, alright, and the way he’s growing week to week, he could surprise us all. Showstopper week will be his biggest challenge. Could be a make or break week for his chances.
Justine: Rhema Varrie – I will reiterate once again how Rhema was one of my early favourites. He once again delivered a fairly solid performance but is yet to show any real emotion on stage. He has a huge following and will stick around for a good couple of weeks.
Reinhardt: Loyiso Gijana – Sadly, Loyiso will probably finish in 5th place. Which is a huge shock considering his great talent and natural star quality at the age of 16, but I worry that he does not have the support to make it to the Top 4. If it was up to me, he’d be in the Top 2. His performance of “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” proved that he has the star quality to turn a cheesy 80’s classic into a possible 2015 hit. He’s contemporary. He has an international pop star feel to him. I like this dude.
Justine: Mmatema Moremi – Based on talent Mmatema should win. She managed to deliver a solid performance of “Weekend Special” regardless of being extremely emotional after being left standing with Elwira. We have very little chance of seeing this classy lady win as women account for the largest percentage of voters and we all know that women do not support beautiful, talented women.
Reinhardt: Karabo Mogane – Okay, okay, he drops from the #1 spot this week, BUT, he’s still very likely the winner. Ranking him at #1 this week, though, would make me look silly. His “Careless Whisper” cover was bland and uninspired, and not the performance of a winner. Hell, it wasn’t even the performance of someone who should be in the Top 5. But viewers like bland homely guys, so Karabo is still on course.
Justine: Karabo Mogane – In a just world Karabo would shift down to #5 this week but his enormous fan base, for the most part, seemed pleased as punch with his mediocre rendition of George Michael’s “Careless Whisper”. He needs to watch his back as Loyiso is gaining fans by the minute and that could mean the end of his frontrunner status.
Reinhardt: Mmatema Moremi – I wish people would understand that just because she was called to safety last, doesn’t mean she was in the bottom 2. Get real. I will be surprised if this lady doesn’t find herself in the finale. She deserves to be there, and deserves to win. Her vocal during her performance of Brenda Fassie’s “Weekend Special” wasn’t perfect, but she owned the performance. A great voice, a great performer, a great look? Screams star. Screams winner. If only people could realize that.
Justine: Loyiso Gijana – While my colleague claims that Karabo is this season's winner I have a feeling that young Loyiso could be the 2015 'chosen one' - a term I despise but one who rings more true week after week. One cannot deny that the youngster is talented, the same way Season 4 winner Jody was, but I don't think he is ready to be a star. His fans will obviously disagree and they outnumber the rest of us - battle lost
Will the contestant in last place finally leave this week? I sure hope so. Leave a comment, weigh in!
