Idols South Africa Recap: Loyiso, Karabo, and yes, Siphelele Deliver
As predicted, Amanda Antony was sent packing during the Top 6 performance show on Idols last night, after viewers kept on rewarding mediocre vocals with thousands of votes. Such a shame.
Dineo Moseki survived to perform another week, and so did Siphelele Ngcobo. The huge difference, though, is that Siphelele outperformed Dineo for two consecutive weeks. As he finally delivered a good night, and quite possibly peaked, she continued to crash and burn.
Loyiso delivered two stunning performances while Karabo, and Siphelele delivered at least one performance each that I really loved, while others delivered some solid but quite unmemorable performances too. The only contestant not to deliver a solid performance was Dineo, but she might even survive next week. Siphelele’s “Nomvula” will garner him thousands of votes, and that might send Loyiso home, who had a fantastic night himself.
Mmatema Moremi had a solid night, and Rhema Varrie delivered one really strong performance too.
Dineo was even a little faint backstage before results started, indicating just how scared she was – she knew. Dineo knows she’s in deep shit.
First person safe and performing was Karabo, for the second time.
Karabo – “Water Runs Dry” by Boys II Men: B-
This performance was a little flat to me, the verses were sleepy, and his lower register was underwhelming. The chorus, however, was much better as the choir joined in. It was a little safe and run of the mill from Karabo, but his next performance was the one to change that. Loyiso’s Boys II Men performance was much stronger.
Dineo was next. She wiggled that butt over to the stage and the faintness was nowhere to be seen.
Dineo – “Ex-Factor” by Lauryn Hill: C+
This song was too much for the little one to handle. Her voice does not have Lauryn’s natural rhythm; it doesn’t have her natural groove. It trudged on with a sameness that I didn’t enjoy. During parts, here vocals held up, but as a whole, this was a mess. She’s not a strong enough vocalist.
Rhema was next. He was sitting on the stool previously occupied by Dineo, so yeah.
Rhema – “High and Dry” by Radiohead: B-
He changed up the song, and played piano. That has to some score some points in a season where very few contestants can actually play an instrument. His piano playing was really nice to see, and it was the first performance thus far to get its own interpretation. He was off tune during parts, but there was some nice vocals in there, a tenderness that he hasn’t shown that much throughout the season. It was okay.
Siphelele was up next.
Siphelele – “I Can Love You Like That” by All-4-One: B
This was probably his best English language performance this far. Hell, probably his best to date. It was really, really nice and easy on the ears. His lower register started off shaky, but once the choir joined in he really delivered a solid performance. He seemed more comfortable and eased through it.
And the next to perform was Mmatema.
Mmatema – “Nobody’s Supposed To Be Here” by Deborah Cox: B+
The judges might have disagreed, but I thought this was the best vocal performance thus far at this point in the night. It was soulful and powerful, and no contestant does powerful better than Mmatema. Her lower register wasn’t perfect, but her higher register was killer.
Aaaaaaaand the next person to perform was Loyiso. Amanda, predictably, was going home. Loyiso was visibly upset, and I was really scared it’s going to affect his performance.
Loyiso – “It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye” by Boys II Men: A-
But it didn’t. What a beautiful performance. Does any contestant have a more soulful lower register than Loyiso? And falsetto? I don’t think so. It was emotional, beautiful, pure, wonderful, just everything. He ended round 1 with the best performance thus far, by quite a margin.
When Proverb asked the judges about Round 1, they said this:
Gareth: Loyiso and Karabo stood out.
Somizi: Loyiso stood out, Dineo fell short.
Unathi: Loyiso, without a doubt. Mmatema fell short.
Randall: Boys were in another league. Boys take round 1.
Round 2:
Karabo – “Someone New” by Hozier: A-
A really surprising song choice from Karabo, but it actually suited his voice quite nicely. I enjoyed it a lot. It was soulful but he still kept the fun in the song – it was funky. He struggled with his lower register last week, and a little during his first performance, but here it was effortless. I loved it – really, really nice. Somizi said he is “Usain Bolt-ing” the show, except for lacking Bolt’s personality and arrogance.
Dineo – “Rafael” by Beatenberg: B-
Another surprising song choice, just not sung as effectively as Karabo’s. Again, this rendition left me wanting. Again, a little flat. She performed it well, but it wasn’t quite in the pocket for me. If there is any justice, she should be the one to leave. Randall thought the boys were going to be the best again this round and she’ll be in some trouble. Let’s hope.
Rhema – “Counting Stars” by One Republic: B+
This time he was accompanied by the guitar. He’s definitely trying to push himself. I liked this. It was a good vocal, and much different than his first song. His lower register during the opening verse was surprisingly good. He’s far from a good front man, but he has grown tremendously since his first performance. It was his best performance in a few weeks, but I’m still looking for that wow performance. “When Jesus says yes, no Randall can say no” was Somizi’s response. Jesus won’t put him in the final.
Siphelele – “Nomvula” by Nathi: A-
This is the biggest song in the country right now and it’s obvious why: it’s fucking beautiful, whether you speak the language or not. So, naturally, the song does a lot of the work – and the choir accompanying him. Super smart choice, but maybe even a little unfair. Siphelele pretty much nailed it, though. He sounded great and he was fully in it, he connected to the song, as he did to the first. The crowd loved it, and he ain’t going anywhere. This was his best performance to date. Two very solid performances in one night. Randall said he has never in his time on this show seen a better comeback than Siphelele’s. Will he be able to do the same next week? I don’t think so, but he should be proud of himself.
Mmatema – “Hold My Hand” by Jess Glynn: B+
Yet another surprising song choice. It’s not really well known in South Africa – but a huge hit in the UK – and it’s a very tough song to sing. She did it, though. She sounded great. Her performance wasn’t quite as clubby as the original, but her vocals were on the money. On point. Britpop isn’t easy, and she delivered. The crowd was fucking quiet and I was like yep, she went over their heads again. She’s way too international unfortunately. Gareth wants her to choose something risky – this wasn’t? Sjoe.
Loyiso – “Hold Back The River” by James Bay: A-
It’s another very popular British song, and again over the heads of most Idols viewers. It was a really, really solid performance from Loyiso – nailing a British pop/rock song to finish off a great night for him. The verses were strong, but the choruses were so good. So good, Loyiso. Taking risks and killing it. I’ll even say he’s better than James Bay. Yes. Randall said he was great tonight. Yes, he was.
Should go home: Dineo
Will go home: Loyiso
