(DIMAKATSO)
Soweto came out guns blazing on last night’s episode. Though most hopefuls succumbed to nerves, some were more determined to come out tops and secure a spot in the top 2.
Though the day started off on a slow and unconvincing note in terms of talent, the judges soon realised that Soweto had saved the very best for last.
This was in form of Darlene who sang Lauren Hill’s rendition of ‘his eyes are on the sparrow’ for which the judges unanimously agreed to an ‘automatic yes’.
(DAVID)
Also one of the judges favourites was David (pic above and yes, lekgowa done moerd the sempiti morena, he was really good).
Like Darlene the judges thought he had charisma, confidence and that his rendition of ‘because he lives’ was well presented, sending him straight to call-backs. However, his rendition of ‘se mphiti Morena’ was not good enough to secure him a spot in the top 2 as the competition was even tougher - though he was comfortable enough in the top 10.
(ANDRIES: TOP 2)
After Darlene, there was only one spot left which was to be filled by one of the 8 remaining hopefuls. Judges argued over and over as to who would join Darlene in the top 2 and represent the Johannesburg region in the national top 9.
The lucky person was 23-year-old Andries (pic above) - the judges thought he used their criticism of his top 20 audition piece to his advantage as he brought his A- game during his top 10 audition, sending him to join Darlene in the Johannesburg top 2 and thus concluding the SHINE Johannesburg search.
However, all was not so unanimous with the judges as viewers got to see one of the most hectic disagreements of the season between Liesl and Tshepo over a vocalist and guitarist by the name of Elezier whose nerves got better of him during his audition.
Liesl thought he deserved a second chance as he brought a ‘new feel’ to the gospel genre with his guitar while Tshepo thought he had made one mistake too many as he had three takes for his audition and thought he would not survive in the top 10.
(PRIMROSE)
Judges had mixed reactions when it came to the overall auditions in Soweto. Liesl said she enjoyed Soweto as it had lot of characters and she was thrilled that they managed to spot two great people whereas Steven felt let down by his home town and said he enjoyed Mamelodi more.
Tshepo on the other hand thought ‘Soweto had more spunk and potential to bring the entire package’.
(NELLY)
Nonetheless, one question remains: who will be joining the ‘The Gauteng 4’ in the top 10? Will Durban outshine Soweto and Mamelodi? Does Cape Town have a point to prove? Catch Shine next week as the the crew travels down to Sunny Durban in search of the next SHINE star!