SOUTH AFRICA'S TV WEBSITE
SIGN IN SEARCH MENU
SOUTH AFRICA'S TV WEBSITE


Idols 16: The gospel of ZanoThando ends with elimination

Written by TVSA Team from the blog Mzansi Magic on 29 Nov 2020
Favourite this post



It had to happen to One, and it happened to ZanoThando on Sunday: not even a gospel star could save him from the fiery fate of the latest Idols elimination.

Here's a recap of how things unfolded by Mzansi Magic:

The show opened with the Top 4 being paired with four of South Africa’s gospel greats for some spiritually uplifting performances that bowled over the judges.

ZanoThando was first with a duet with Dr Rebecca Malope. The performance injected a huge dose of energy as they belted out Rebecca’s hit, Ngegazi Lemvana.

Randall Abrahams gave ZanoThando the thumbs up, saying the performance proved last week was not a fluke. 

“You did really well on Angelina last week and … you really did well on this,” he  said.

Both Unathi uWeepy (Ed) and Somizi Mhlongo-Motaung were in agreement, with Unathi adding that the judges had been hard on him over the weeks because they had seen his potential.

Unfortunately, though, ZanoThando bowed out of the competition, having failed to gain enough of the 21 million votes cast to guarantee him a spot in the top three. 

Brandon was paired with Benjamin Dube in a performance of El-Shaddai Adonai that Randall described using words once used for American music legend Sam Cooke - “a combination of sandpaper and honey that together was more special than the separate elements”.

Unathi said the performance was phenomenal, while Somizi said he had held his own in a combination that worked perfectly. 

Returning later to perform Miguel’s Adorn, the judges were unanimous that Brandon’s song choice was his strength, but Randall added that it was now less about this than it was about the desire to win. 

As far as the judges were concerned, Zama redeemed herself after a few weeks of shaky performances.

Her gospel duet with Ntokozo Mbambo, singing In The Shadow, had Randall declaring it her best performance yet.

“You opened with restraint ….and killed it at the end,” he said.

Moved to tears, Unathi uWeepy (Ed) said she knew all along that this is what she is capable of, with Somizi saying she and Ntokozo were a match made in heaven and she had held her own.

Her next performance, singing Empini by Kelly Khumalo, had Unathi declaring Zama was back and Somizi saying she was certainly securing her spot in the finale.  

Mr Music rounded off the top three with a brilliant duet with Dr Tumi. Singing Udumo, the duo impressed the judges with Randall saying they gave a good performance, but at the same time encouraging Mr Music to go for the big notes.

Unathi said it was his best performance to date, while Somizi said their pairing was genius. “This worked like magic – it was beautiful,” he said. 

Mr Music’s second performance -  Adele’s One and Only - had Randall once again calling for big notes.

Unathi said it was an amazing performance, while Somizi said he enjoyed the performance, describing Mr Music as an authentic musician. “You are going to be a super star!” he said. “Now you just have to believe.”

The second half of the show was all about amapiano, with Brandon performing Kabza De Small and Sha Sha’s Why Ngikufela.

This time, the judges were more restrained in their praise, with Unathi only saying “well done” and Randall saying the performance sounded like a record rather than a live performance. Somizi underplayed the performance saying he would still get the votes. 

Zama performed Kabza De Small’s Nia Lo, with the judges again choosing their words carefully to highlight her strength.

Randall said she had been the most individualistic voice of all the women in the competition this year, adding that her earlier duet with Ntokozo would carry her through. Meanwhile, Somizi felt it was a lazy performance. 

Mr Music’s amapiano choice was Tikoloshi by Soweto's Finest, with Unathi saying he had taken this round. Somizi said he would make an amazing finalist as he had worked extremely hard and would give any contender a run for their money. Randall merely said he comfortable with any two of the top three making it into the finale. 

With the Top 3 performances now in the bag, the big question is now who will be the last man or woman standing in two weeks’ time.

This week, however, will be a big week for the top three as they record their first singles with Kalawa Jazmee Records. 

 

Shows in this post: Idols

Channels in this post: Mzansi Magic



Comments


Only TVSA members can reply to this thread. Click here to login or register.






LATEST ARTICLES

New on TV today: Saturday 19 July 2025

Mockumentary comedy St. Denis Medical debuts on M-Net and Dark Side of the Ring returns to eReality.


On Carte Blanche: fake cremation ashes of loved ones

It's one of our worst fears and something we've always been suspicious of. How do you know ashes are legit?


Scandal! Teasers - August 2025

Mthunzi has to accept the deal on the table but then he strikes gold and all bets are off.


Yosef Teasers - August 2025

Yosef gets saved by a stranger and Sultan has a cunning plan to get rid of Kiraz.


New on TV today: Friday 18 July 2025

The only new show today is a run of Shark Beach with Anthony Mackie: Gulf Coast on Disney+.


Skemergrond character portrait: Denver Vraagom as Dominee Wayne Ackerman

Seven years sober and Denver's taking on the role of Mr Hallelujah.


Soulmates Teasers - August 2025

Chiti secretly films Sachin, framing him as a drunk driver, and the vid goes viral.


New on TV today: Thursday 17 July 2025

SA is featured in Surf Girls International on Prime Video and M-Net unpacks an Anatomy of Lies.


2025 Emmy Awards Popcorn Pack

The headline nominees, other interesting ones, overall tallies and a giggle.


Anupama Teasers - August 2025

Prem and Rahi host a fun cricket match, bringing both families together for a joyful time.

LATEST SITE ACTIVITY


More activity at TVSA Central



LATEST SOAPIE TEASERS



LATEST SOAPIE TEASERS





×
×

You browser doesn't have Flash, Silverlight, Gears, BrowserPlus or HTML5 support.