The “Idols SA” top five took to stage this past Sunday to fight for their chance to be crowned as this year's top Idol.
Ndoni, Mr Music, Zama, Brandon and ZanoThando took to the stage to perform two songs each, one from the most Shazamed local songs and the first performance being how it was suppose to be done - looking into the wooden mic batch and showing them how it should have been sung.
Ndoni was the first to open the evening, taking her shot at Berita’s popular “Ndicel’ikiss” and later performing “Senzeni” by DJ Manzo SA, leaving Somizi Mhlongo-Motaung raving in compliments, Randall Abrahams highlighting that her uniqueness worked for her while Unathi Nkayi said she was phenomenal.
Second on stage, Mr Music sang the iconic Ringo Madlingozi’s “Ndiyagodola” with his second song being Sbahle’s “Emlanjeni”.
Although Unathi enjoyed his performances, she admitted his second performance was better than the first, saying his emotions did not match the lyrics of the song “Ndiyagodola”.
She advised Mr Music to involve his emotions moving forward.
Somizi concurred, saying he should minimise on his dancing and show emotions.
Randall, who picked Mr Music as his favourite in round 1, asked that he selected more inward-looking, reflective songs to woo voters beyond his fans.
Zama, who experienced a tough time last week, took to the stage with Alicia Keys's “A Woman’s Worth” and Cici’s “Hamba Naye”.
All three judges urged the singer to show more facial expressions.
Somizi said as much as Zama’s voice was amazing, she showed no emotions and that was cause for worry.
Unathi blamed her family for distracting her, but commended her for “reminding us of the Zama we fell in love with at the first audition”.
Brandon, who got Somizi and Unathi's votes for performer of the night for his first performance, also got Randall's vote as performer of the night after his second song.
He took to the stage to give his rendition of “7 Years” by Lukas Graham and “Your Love” by Azana.
Randall commented it seemed as if the quiet ones were swiftly moving up the ranks with little fanfare, adding he was pretty sure the other contestants were shocked every week when Brandon made it through every time.
Unathi labelled him as dynamic, saying he had the mark of a true winner because she heard his music being played on different radio stations.
The last performer of the night, ZanoThando, sang Bill Withers’s “Lean on Me” which unfortunately fell flat, according to all three judges.
Somizi gave stern advice that he should spend more time on mastering the keys of the song as opposed to focusing on the easier songs.
The judge added ZanoThando should select songs and artists that best suited him like Mlindo and Sjava.
With his second song choice, “Bella Ciao” by Nicole Elocin and Tyler ICU, all judges agreed the song best suited his style. Unathi said ZanoThando had the best stage presence of all because he wasn’t afraid of an audience and loved attention, adding he was a formidable performer.
None of the judges was impressed with his first performance, all remarking he was off-key. Randall said ZanoThando’s second performance suited him better because it allowed him to dance and perform, with Somizi agreeing.
While the five remaining contestants are still in the running for the crown, 20-year-old Ntokozo Mvelase was the one to bite the dust, leaving Somizi in shock.
Next week, only four contestants will perform alongside the Mzansi Gay Choir as we move closer to the unveiling of the 2020 winner.