A rundown of last nights episode of Idols:
From the press release:
After the culling of nine Idols over the past two weeks, this week only two contestants will go home. But now the stakes are higher than ever with the all-important Top 10 phase only two weeks away. Last night’s episode marked the first time that the girls and the guys competed together - will that affect the voting?
First up was Yolanda Nabo with the Kelly Clarkson song, “Walk Away”. “Nice job, great start,” said Dave. Mara thought she could have “raised the bar a bit more” and Gareth agreed, but Randall said Yolanda “should be commended” for letting us see different sides of her personality. To vote for Yolanda, viewers can dial 086 22 777 01, or SMS “Yolanda” to 34680.
Dominic Momberg was the first guy on stage with Nick Lachey’s tender ballad, “What’s Left Of Me”. Dave thought Dom “came out fighting”, but Mara warned him not to let his guard down - “I felt like you bored me a little bit,” she commented. Gareth thought he did a good job with a song that could easily have been corny, but Randall admonished that Dom was “straining through most of that song.” Dom’s number is 086 22 777 02, or SMS “Dominic” to 34680.
Tender Mavundla’s song for this week was Keisha White’s “The Weakness In Me”. For Dave it was a “reasonable job”, but he warned her not to play to the cameras too much. Again, Mara thought that Tender had dropped her guard. “I don’t know who told you that you’d already won,” she scolded. Gareth loved it though. “You came out there and you were strong!” he commended her. “You were certainly more memorable than the song,” Randall agreed, “but if you’re still here next week you have to think about your song choice.” To vote for Tender, viewers can dial 086 22 777 03, or SMS “Tender” to 34680.
To avoid confusion between her and Dominic Momberg, Dominique Burger’s SMS code will be “Nicky” from now on. So to vote for her, viewers must SMS “Nicky” to 34680 or dial 086 22 777 04. “Nicky” sang Rihanna’s R&B hit “Unfaithful”. “You clearly can sing, but there’s no ‘edge’,” said Dave and once again, Mara was “bored”. Gareth told Dominique she was lucky to get through last week “and this week I still think there was something wrong.” Randall agreed that her performance “lacked soul. It wasn’t captivating.”
Peter “PJ” Simeoni took a smooth approach with the Michael Bublé hit “Everything”. Dave, unfortunately, was bored. Mara had good news, though - “You’re my boy,” she smiled. “Nice job, Frodo!” Gareth teased. “This song takes a communicative singer, so the audience will feel they’re part of it,” Randall lectured. “I wasn’t part of it. I was in dreamland.” To vote for PJ, fans can dial 086 22 777 05, or SMS “PJ” to 34680.
Andriëtte Norman’s song choice, “Songbird”, is an old Fleetwood Mac classic, but she covered the version revived by the late Eva Cassidy. Dave thought Andriëtte was “an example of someone who not only can sing, but has a distinctive voice.” Mara was equally pleased. “You are a singer’s singer,” she praised. Gareth agreed. “That was a master class in control,” he said. Randall protested that he wanted to say that, so he just contributed that Andriëtte could “teach them all a lesson.” Andriëtte’s voting number is 086 22 777 06, or SMS “Andriëtte” to 34680.
Jarred de Kock rocked Maroon 5’s “This Love”. “I appreciate that you gave some more thought to your song choice,” Dave started, “but don’t think it helped you.” Mara agreed that “there’s something about your singing that’s not ‘quite there’.” Gareth praised Jarred for doing the best he could do. But, “you can dance as much as you like and look as good as you want,” Randall warned, “but you can’t circumvent the singing.” To vote for Jarred, viewers can dial 086 22 777 07, or SMS “Jarred” to 34680.
Caroline Borole’s old-school choice was the Nina Simone standard, as covered by Michael Bublé: “Feeling Good”. “From the first audition to now, you’ve not put a foot wrong,” Dave complimented. But Mara thought Caroline treated the song with too much aggression. Gareth agreed. “It’s meant to be a sexy song,” he admonished. “To my mind it was overly histrionic,” said Randall. Caroline’s voting number is 086 22 777 08, or SMS “Caroline” to 34680.
Then it was Daniel Büys’s turn and he kept the “Faith”, as in the Eighties George Michael hit. “That was a good Idols performance,” Dave admitted. “Try to avoid sounding like someone singing karaoke,” Mara warned. Gareth agreed with Dave, but… “it was David Beckham does George Michael,” Randall commented cryptically. To vote for Daniel, viewers can dial 086 22 777 09, or SMS “Daniel” to 34680.
Sabelo Mthembu covered Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition”. “Amazing transition from the ‘beige banker’,” Dave praised, “but I don’t think your vocals are strong enough.” Mara thought Sabelo could do much better. “I’ve liked you the whole way though,” said Gareth, “but this wasn’t quite ‘you’”. Randall agreed that Sabelo should not have tried to channel Stevie Wonder. Sabelo voting number is 086 22 777 10, or SMS “Sabelo” to 34680.
Jody Williams chose a Whitney Houston ballad, “Run To You”, from the Bodyguard soundtrack album. Dave predicted that we would see Jody in the Top 10, but warned that we need to see a bit more variety from her. Mara was in tears. “You were born to sing,” she sobbed. Gareth praised the “maturity” of Jody’s voice but noted that she lost a bit of control with that song. Randall thought Jody’s performance tonight was “robotic”. Dial 086 22 777 11 to vote for Jody, or SMS “Jody” to 34680.
Munro du Toit played Chris Isaac’s “Wicked Game” and impressed Dave, who praised his “distinctive voice”. Mara said Munro had everything she wanted from a singer and that she would buy his CD. “I can’t help liking you,” Gareth agreed. “There’s something cool about you.” But Randall just “hated it”. Munro’s voting number is 086 22 777 12, or SMS “Munro” to 34680.
The last girl to perform tonight was Carla Louw, who went techno-pop with the Goldfinger cover of Nena’s one-hit-wonder, “99 Red Balloons”. “What’s not to like?” Dave admitted. Mara thought Carla would do well in the competition and Gareth was very impressed. “You were captivating,” he praised. Even Randall thought it was “infectious”, but he added ominously that there was an “infinite chasm” between her and the other singers. To vote for Carla, viewers can dial 086 22 777 13, or SMS “Carla” to 34680.
Last but not least, Björn Blignaut took a stand with the defiant Bon Jovi anthem, “It’s My Life”. Dave said he really didn’t enjoy it. Mara agreed, “but at least you showed us another side of you,” she conceded. “You didn’t bite into the song,” Gareth complained. Randall agreed that Björn came across “extremely stylized”. Björn’s voting number is 086 22 777 14, or SMS “Björn” to 34680.
Voting opened at the start of tonight’s show and viewers can vote via landline, SMS, MXit or on the Idols website at www.mnet.co.za. The voting lines will close just before the end of tonights live Results Show. (1 October, 2007 at 19h00)
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