It was lights, camera, action at the Ellispark Arena in Johannesburg as this season’s Spectaculars launched with Idols’ biggest show ever.
The Ellispark Arena is Idols’ biggest concert venue ever; and for the first time ever the Spectaculars kicked off with a full band and backup singers, under the leadership of Musical Director Johan Laas.
Munro The theme this week was Songs From The Last Century and first up was Munro, with Smooth by Rob Thomas & Santana.
Dave liked that Munro seemed to care more about the audience than the judges’ opinions. Mara reiterated that Munro is a natural entertainer, but she would have liked him to pay more attention to her.
"I think you’ve done a really good job starting us off tonight," said Gareth. Randall thought it a shame that Munro didn’t seem to focus enough on singing technique.
"You’re not always going be singing in front of crowds," he cautioned.
Munro's Voting Number: 086 22 777 12, or SMS "Munro" to 34680.
Yolanda Yolanda Nabo said her goal for the evening was just to enjoy her song – Faith Hill’s This Kiss. Dave said the judges would not focus too much on individual voices tonight, "but on what you bring to the stage. You’ve brought something different – I liked it."
Again, Mara didn’t like that Yolanda didn’t acknowledge the judges. "I thought that was OK," said Gareth, but he also admitted that he had been too hard on her last week.
As with Munro, Randall warned Yolanda to focus on the singing. "It looked as if even you were falling asleep," he warned.
Yolanda’s Voting Number: 086 22 777 01, or SMS "Yolanda" to 34680.
Daniel Daniel Büys chose Counting Crows’ Big Yellow Taxi and said he hoped to "have a jol with the band". Dave thought that Dan "is an underrated artist". Mara thought he looked and sounded like a pop star.
"I was very tough on you last week, maybe unjustifiably," said Gareth. "But tonight I have to admit I don’t think you’re going anywhere for a couple of rounds."
Randall thought Dan did well, but "the song lacked any groove".
Daniel's Voting Number: 086 22 777 09, or SMS "Daniel" to 34680.
Tender Tender Mavundla sang Robin S’s Show Me Love. "This is the sort of performance where you’re really working with the audience," said Dave. "That’s what I like to see."
Mara said she felt like getting up and grooving, "and that’s what it’s all about." Gareth just had one word: "Sexy!"
Randall said it was an interesting choice of song. "It was really a very good performance," he said.
Tender's Voting Number: 086 22 777 03, or SMS "Tender" to 34680.
Dominic Dominic Momberg sang Bryan Adams’ Summer Of 69. "You needed a performance like this tonight to get away from your boy-bandish image," Dave admitted, "but you didn’t really pull it off."
Mara thought it started with a bang, "but it faded away to nothing." Gareth agreed – "it descended into karaoke," he complained.
"You need gravel in your voice and grit in your soul for rock and roll," Randall lectured, "and in that performance I heard neither."
Dominic's Voting Number: 086 22 777 02, or SMS "Dominic" to 34680.
Andriëtte Andriëtte Norman sang Céline Dion’s Declaration Of Love. "Making it into the Top 10 is a huge platform if you’re serious about this business," said Dave, but he wondered if Andriëtte was that serious.
"The girl’s got soul!" Mara raved, but she didn’t think it was Andriëtte’s best performance. Gareth said if Andriëtte was serious she had his support right to the end.
But Randall’s praise was unqualified. "Your soulfulness is so innate that you can’t even let it go," he marvelled. "You’re the one person I want to manage," he admitted.
Andriëtte's Voting Number: 086 22 777 06, or SMS "Andriëtte" to 34680.
Caroline Caroline Borole told Colin that she hoped to have fun with her song, Laura Brannigan’s Eighties anthem Gloria. "It’s pretty obvious that you’re much more at home in front of an audience," said Dave. "Better – but there are still some areas where you fall into the trap of overdoing it."
Mara disagreed – "you are back in form!" she praised Caroline. Gareth agreed.
"You have all the abilities as a singer," said Randall, but the difficulty is you never seem to inhabit a song, you only seem to perform it."
Caroline's Voting Number: 086 22 777 08, or SMS "Caroline" to 34680.
Björn Björn Blignaut chose the Marvin Gaye classic Heard It Through The Grapevine. "What do the ladies see in you?" Dave asked.
Mara was only too happy to answer that question. "You’re still my boy’tjie," she said. "Don’t get too distracted," Gareth cautioned. "Work hard. You’re doing fine at the moment."
Randall channeled his inner Yoda. "Marvin Gaye..." he mused cryptically. "Big shoes to fill..."
Björn’s Voting Number: 086 22 777 14, or SMS "Björn" to 34680.
Carla Carla Louw sang Walking On Sunshine by Katrina And The Waves. "Right through all the audition stages, you always had a lot of fun, you’ve always been totally at home," said Dave. "I’m sure we’ll get to see a lot more of you."
Mara certainly hoped so. "It would be very lonely to only have one Louw on stage," she joked. "But I’d like to see another side of you – it’s been very one-dimensional so far."
Gareth said that he loved Carla’s energy, but "tonight you got carried away," he said sadly.
"The novelty value is wearing off," Randall agreed.
Carla’s Voting Number: 086 22 777 13, or SMS "Carla" to 34680.
Jody Jody Williams wrapped the show with Tina Turner’s Simply The Best. Dave said he would call that "an intelligent performance."
Mara said she was "absolutely amazed" at Jody’s sophistication. "You sing so beautifully!" Gareth predicted that Jody would win this competition.
Randall said the intelligence goes beyond just the performance and that it was also a very shrewd song choice. "If you’re going to continue making such good choices, I’m going to have to agree with Gareth."
Jody's Voting Number: 086 22 777 11, or SMS "Jody" to 34680.