Idols South Africa Recap: Terra and Keegan Top a Weak Night
“It’s going to be a big season!” Randal proclaimed two weeks ago.
And tonight the Top 10 did their best to prove Randall wrong. What looked like a potentially big season looks now like potentially the weakest top 10 in recent memory.
But hey, it’s not all bad, especially if you’re Terra or Keegan. They delivered stunning performances on a night where the judges heaped praise on frontrunner Noma for ruining a Whitney song which didn’t need any vocal gymnastics and likely winner Thami stumbled over the lyrics of a big hit.
Truth is, this season, in my books, is heading towards a dud, which is probably a fitting end to a generally weak season. Terra and Keegan are great, and would be a very good Top 2, but they can’t compete against a dude who amassed a fan base over a stretch of two years.
Let’s get to the performances:
Keegan – Luther Vandross’ “The Impossible Dream”: A-
It’s a very different Keegan this week. I’d be lying if I didn’t prefer the cooler, more current Keegan, but whatever Keegan shows up; you know it’ll be good. This was a great vocal. The lower register, the huge notes, the falsetto – it was all on fire. Certainly not a fan of the song, but I’m a fan of Keegan.
Lucia – Faith Evans’ “Never Gonna Let You Go”: B
Lucia needed a much stronger performance than she gave 3 weeks ago, and she did, because the song choice was better. Her husky tone worked well with the song although her voice broke a couple of times during the performance, and sometimes that adds to the song, but I didn’t think it added to the performance in this case. That said, it was a strong vocal and her tone really came through. The vocal was soulful, but as Unathi said, Lucia wasn’t emotive enough. It was solid.
Sanele – Boys II Men’s “I’ll Make Love to You”: C-
I expected a lot from Sanele after his strong performance a couple of weeks ago, but this performance was a letdown. The vocal and the performance failed to be sensual, or sexy, or in the sweet spot. In hindsight, it was probably not the right song choice. His deep voice didn’t work with the song. I like him, but this was all wrong. The first verse was particularly wonky and by the climax of the song it was completely overwrought.
Noma – Whitney Houston’s “My Love is Your Love”: C
I was worried when I saw which song she picked, and maybe rightfully so. This was not the right song. She seemed disconnected, and just not in the sweet groove. She over sang a song that doesn’t rely on big vocals to succeed. I pretty much hated this I’m afraid. Her great voice was lost on the song. OTT.
Bevin – Robbie Williams’ “Angels”: C
It’s another song choice that had me worried, and again, rightfully so. Firstly, this song isn’t R&B, at all. Bevin needs a song that gives him the chance to give a performance because that’s where he truly shines. Gareth was right: the song choice might fail him. His vocal performance wasn’t worse than Sanele’s, but the song choice might save the latter. Vocally, it was okay, but he needed more than that.
Terra Cox – Tevin Campbell’s “Tell Me What You Want”: A
Finally, a good vocal performance! Emotional, heartfelt, and real: his gravelly voice carries over those emotions to beautifully, and then there’s the ever reliable falsetto too, and did that falsetto work! He’s an underdog, but with consistently great vocals, he should be a frontrunner. It was really, really good. Keegan and Terra for the Top 2? I’d be down.
Nosihe – Celine Dion’s “I’m Your Angel”: C-
Nosihe’s a very lucky girl. She stole Amanda’s spot, and then decided to sing a Celine Dion song and completely fails. She doesn’t have the vocal chops to do any Celine song. It was an undercooked vocal from an undercooked singer. #BringBackAmanda
Tebogo – Jodeci’s “Lately”: C
Rough. That explains his two live performances thus far. The judges gave him his shot and at the moment, he’s screwing it up. During parts he had to strain to hit those notes, and other times it felt a little disconnected. This isn’t the type of song Tebogo needs to sing. He’s not a R&B singer. He’s a little edgier than that. Vocals were okay, and that’s about it. He’ll be here for some time, though.
Thami – Toni Braxton’s “Unbreak My Heart”: C
Thami is a consistently good vocalist, and then this performance landed. He’s a very sophisticated singer, but he’s almost too perfect. You know you’re going to get a good vocal but I really want to see something more at this stage. Where’s the “it” factor? He lost some words at the beginning and that shook him a little, but who are we kidding? We know he’s going to win, anyway, whether he deserves to or not (he doesn’t).
Valentine – Whitney Houston’s “I’m Your Baby”: B+
I’m just glad someone chose a more upbeat R&B number, and pulled it off! It wasn’t perfect, but it was a very solid attempt. It’s a very challenging song and she managed to do it some justice. It was a pretty solid vocal but an even better performance. She looked good and sounded good. Nice way to end a very weak night.
Should go home: Sanele or Nosihe
Will go home: Bevin
