It was a night of all-inspiring musical bliss as the “Idols SA” season 18 Top 6 contestants were selected.
Every Sunday, each contestant gets to showcase two songs they hope will win over the hearts of Mzansi and get viewers to vote for them.
Sunday night live at Tshwane’s Heartfelt Arena saw the end of the journey for Kabelo.
Last night, #IdolsSA audiences had to bid Kabelo farewell, but goodbyes are hard, so we're delaying that a bit by sharing his dress rehearsal performances from yesterday. Click each of the images to view each one.
— Idols South Africa (@IdolsSA) October 10, 2022
After a dramatic show-stopper episode last week, the remaining contestants shared their truest selves as they sang songs that inspired them, followed by collaborations with MTN Joyous Celebration.
With over 8.5 million viewer votes this week, the top 6 are Mpilo, Noxolo, Nozi, Thapelo, Ty Loner, and Zee.
Joining the crowd was British boxing icon Chris Eubank, who attended as a guest.
Opening the show was Zee, who performed Christina Aguilera’s “Hurt”, followed by “Uzuliphathe Kahle” with Joyous Celebration.
Commenting on the first performance, Somizi Mhlongo said: “You were flawless. Your lower register is insane – you sounded confident and mature.”
Thembi Seete agreed: “You can do any song right now; the second performance injected life into us.”
JR Bogopa also had high praise for the 18-year-old: “You’re in your element. You’re growing to become the artist that you wanna be.”
Noxolo hit all the right notes with Simi’s “We Were Here”, followed by Joyous’s “My Help”.
Seete said: “The one thing I admire is how deeply you connect with gospel.”
She felt transported by the music; it was as if she was in church, Seete added.
Mhlongo offered advice: “I need you to find something that’s gonna make you memorable. The only thing that’s gonna stand in between you and winning is us remembering Noxolo because the only time we remember you is when you’re standing in front of us.”
Speaking to IOL Entertainment after the show, Noxolo said: “Firstly I’m truly grateful to my fans for the love and support.
“Making it this far in the competition is a blessing. I’m one of the quietest contestants in the competition, this is all new for me but I’m working so hard to not lose myself in all of this.
“I believe the reason I made it this far is because of my uniqueness.”
Ty Loner’s first performance was Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You”, followed by “Who Am I” with Joyous Celebration.
Bogopa offered constructive criticism: “Over the weeks, we’ve seen you garner a lot of support, but the performances from you this week have become a little gimmicky. I’m not buying what you’re selling – I feel like it’s not necessarily authentic.”
Mhlongo agreed: “Do you have star quality? 100%. Do you have charisma? 100%. Do you have what it takes to sell records? 150%. But what you need to do from now on is practise your vocals.”
Ty said: “I feel on top of the world to have made it this far. It’s insane – we started from thousands of auditions up until only six and I am one of them.
“I give all thanks to God and the people who believe in me for making this journey worth the while. I appreciate my supporters so much because my progress once again is a reflection of their support.”
Nozi performed Jennifer Holliday’s “One Night Only”, and for her Joyous collab, she sang “Wenzile”. Both performances were lauded by the judges.
“When you sing, you wipe the floor with your heart. You can sing, man!” Mhlongo said, before giving her his first “Woo-shem!” of the night.
Seete said: “It’s your night. This is your Sunday. You pay attention to details. You can go high and lose your mind on stage, but the approach you have to any song that you touch is so delicate.”
Nozi said: “I feel much better this week about my performances compared to last week. I believe I did better.
“Thank you to the judges for seeing that I’m pushing and trying my best. To everyone who’s been supporting me, thank you for voting for me and believing in my dream. I'm honoured and grateful for each and every one of you.”
Mpilo was next to take the stage, singing Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror”, before performing Joyous’s “Ndenzel’ Uncedo”.
Mpilo said: “I feel honoured to share a stage with Joyous Celebration. It will always be a memory I'll never forget and my first performance for inspo song was definitely an amazing heartfelt one because it had a message and it was dedicated to my grandfather. I feel so much happier and connected to that one.”
Seete said of the first track: “You gave that song an attitude that I enjoyed so much.”
But she felt that Mpilo was holding back during her second performance.
Bogopa said: “Mpilo, relax. You’ve got nothing to worry about. You’re in control and you’re in charge. You are running this show.”
Mhlongo agreed: “You are one dangerous contestant. You did not move one single inch (while performing), but you moved the entire country.”
Closing the show was Thapelo, who sang Whitney Houston’s “I Look To You”, before singing the Joyous track “Hallelujah Nkateko”.
Bogopa said of the gospel track: “I’ll tell you this for free – this is your genre. When you go and make a success of this genre, stick to it. This is the way you’re going to speak to the world.”
Mhlongo pretended to search around the judges’ desk for something he had lost, as he said: “Now, wena, I’ve run out of woo-shems. I’m looking for them!”
Seete threw her hands in the air, simply exclaiming: “I don’t know what else you want us to say!”
Tune in to Mzansi Magic (DStv channel 161) on Sunday at 5pm to see who will make the Top 5.