Exactly who is worthy of the Judges’ “Save” this season? Simphiwe was NOT supposed to leave before Monde and Melissa, simply because Monde and Melissa have been growing in the competition while Simphiwe was consistent all the way through. After last night’s elimination round, I’m tempted to start thinking this whole conspiracy thing about Khaya being the pre-selected winner is true.
The Port-Nolloth lad who followed Idols auditions from Joburg to Durban after arriving late in Jozi got the boot from the show last night. The very talented 22 year-old, silky-smooth-voiced and high-toned tough-contender of note was obviously vying hard for the title. If there’s anyone who deserved the judges “Save” it’s Simphiwe Gwegwe.
In a little interview I did with him on Friday after the show Simphiwe told me he is not new to the spotlight: “I used to be a Child Presenter for Namibia’s NBS tv”, Simphiwe said. He further told me that he is single (please submit CV's) and that no matter what his fate in Idols is, he will continue singing, and we hope he does. Such talent should be in our faces for decades to come.
Simphiwe posing with Iko Mash
The competition hangs thick now with Khaya, Monde, Tshidi and Melissa fighting for the win. The Top 5 took on 2 songs each this past week and in the first round they all seemed to have messed up their performances one way or the other ... including the mighty Khaya.
Last standing ladies
Stand out performances came from Tshidi’s “River deep, Mountain High” penned by Tina Turner, Monde’s “One” originally sung by U2, Khaya’s “Try a little tenderness” by Otis and Simphiwe’s cover of Bonnie Raitt’s “I can’t make you love me”. Melissa's interpretation of Tina Turner's “Proud Mary” was luke warm.
By the way, all of these Idols did tell me that they are currently single (submit cv's please - lol) and have been trying to pursue music careers before they auditioned, so it’s a dream come true to each one of them to have reached this far. Talk about people in music, so I bumped into Lyle who made the 2010’s Popstar group Nne-vida.
Lyle from Nne-Vida
He is now a back-up singer on Idols. Talking to him about the group and its lack of success after the competition Lyle said: “It’s the people behind the group that failed them”. “Nne-vida is no-more and we are currently pushing our own stuff now”, he continued. How sad, those guys were SUPER talented and I would like to see them again in our scenes. I won’t even start on their cd which we couldn't even find in music shops! Total Flop!
Here posing with Kelly Fortuin of Idols 7 Fame...
Powerhouse diva from last year’s season Crushanda Forbes showed face. Had a quick chat with her about her current projects and sounds like the lady is busy. Look out for an “Adele show” in which she will be singing Adele’ songs and touring our beautiful country with some of the 7de Laan cast. Now that I think of it, I should do a one-on-one with her ...
Crushanda Forbes
Genevieve Howard from K FM who chose a second round song for Tshidi. Such a great lady, had a little chit-chat with her after the show and she was just a bucket of fun and warmness.
Sexy Genevieve
Ashifa Shabba from Capricorn FM was also there, and his listeners were responsible for Khaya’s “Just a little tenderness” performance...
Capricorn FM' Shabba
In a homebrewed-themed show, the Idols Top 4 goes head-to-head again this coming Sunday. Recharge your batteries and airtimes.
Did you vote?
Was your favourite save?
Are you happy with the results?
Your thoughts on Simphiwe's elimination?
@narekekana