The Voice SA: The Season Premiere
After months of a talent-show drought The Voice South Africa finally premiered on South African television last night. In light of the melodrama surrounding Idols South Africa of late, the new kid on the Reality-TV block proved to be rather refreshing.
The first few minutes of the show reminded strongly of an early-season episode of Noot vir Noot with my main concern being presenter Lungile Radu who clearly is no Carson Daly. Luckily all apprehension disappeared as soon as the delicious duo of Kahn Morbee and Bobby van Jaarsveld made their appearance.
With the judges comfortably seated in their red chairs it was time for the first contestant to take to the stage. Mbijana Sibisi delivered with a soulful rendition of Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song’ and saw both Karen and Bobby hitting their buzzers. After a brief sales pitch from the two judges Mbijana discarded Karen and became the first member of #TeamBobby.
Next up is Marcel de Almeida who has appeared on both Noot Vir Noot and Musiek Roulette as a guest performer. He takes a risk with ‘Push Me to the Floor’ by The Parlotones. Marcel has a surprisingly good voice with a nice Country rasp to it. Bobby and Karen turn around and Karen scores her first team member.
The third contestant of the night is 32-year old Thembeka Mnguni. She has a big voice and a nice story of upliftment and overcoming personal obstacles. There are tears all round after a touching performance. Lira preaches a good sermon and seems to be the obvious choice but surprise surprise, Thembeka choses Karen!
Gavin Welsh from Warner Beach is up next. He is a big guy with a big soulful voice and reminds me of X Factor USA winner, Tate Stevens. No judges show interest in having him on their team but they all express regret afterwards for not hitting their buzzers. I think the viewers would have liked Gavin and I hope this lase in judgment comes back to bite the judges in their collective behind.
El Clay is up next and delivers a heartfelt performance of Sam Smith’s ‘I’m Not the Only One’. All four chairs turned around before I could even say ‘over-sung song’. Kahn describe El’s voice as “honey with a drop of whiskey”. Lira wins her first team member as El opts to join #TeamLira.
Kahn still has no team members. Is he opting for quality over quantity at this stage of the game?
Next up is newly-matriculated cutie Jessica Martins with Bastille’s ‘Pompei’. She is extremely nervous but impresses the judges with her beautiful unique voice. “Pick Kahn’ I say. She picks Bobby.
Bubbly newly-wed Thato Reynolds is up next but fails to impress the judges. Luckily her very supportive hubby is waiting in the wings when she leaves the stage somewhat defeated.
I expected to see a lot of Idols alumni on the show but Prime Zulu was not one of them. Prime has definitely matured a lot since his stint on Idols but is still a very emotional and passionate performer. His voice is REALLY good. Lira cries. Kahn delivers a good sales pitch. Prime picks Kahn. In your face Lira!
I’m a huge fan of Janice Honeyman’s pantomimes and was hoping that Joanna Abatzoglou would blow the judges away. Sadly she did not display enough depth to convince the judges that she is ready to make the move from stage to recording studio and is sent home without turning any chairs. I dont think we have seen the last of her yet - I redict a very rosperous career in theater for her.
The pimp spot of the night goes to 40-year old Jeremy Olivier. He radiates goodness and is dad to 5 wholesome kids. Lira’s antics distracts slightly from a beautiful rendition of John Legend’s ‘All of Me’. I’m used to hearing the song from behind a piano but was blown away by how good it sounds accompanied by a guitar. All four chairs turned so fast that it made my head spin. I would have paired Jeremy with Kahn but he picks Lira.
With that, the first episode comes to an end and I feel strangely satisfied. I’m still not convinced of Lungile’s presenting skills but for now I will give him the benefit of the doubt. I rather like the interaction between the judges although Lira channeling of a greater siritual being could prove painful in the long run.
Who were your favorite contestants of the night? Which team are you on?
Tune into Mnet Channel 101 next Sunday at 17:30 for more auditions from The Voice South Africa
Comments