The Showstopper Night was a spectacular two-hour show dressed in all the glitz, glam and dazzling lights befitting an Idols SA stage!
However, before the sweat had even dried on the contestants’ foreheads after a sensational opening performance of Say My Name by Destiny’s Child, host Proverb had the lights dimmed to announce the one who had received the least number of votes and was on their way out.
Twenty-nine-year-old Nosihe Zulu became the latest casualty of a lack of votes, making her the contestant exiting the Idols stage. The singer, who first impressed at the Durban audition with her little brother taking over the judges’ table, was this season’s Afro princess and her dazzling smile and powerful voice saw her push this far.
To bring the mood back up, the Mabala Noise crew including Du Bois, Gigi LaMayne, Nasty C and Ricky Rick took over the spotlight to do what they are best known for – lots of awesome local noise.
Showstopper Night is about the contestants showing they deliver the consummate triple threat of showmanship – singing, dancing and performing.
Noma was first up and tapped into her inner Sasha Fierce to bring Beyoncé’s Sweet Dreams to life. “You nailed it! You outshone the dancers and I was just watching you. You deserve a whoooo shem!” was Somizi’s enthusiastic verdict. The performances were off to a good start.
Next up was Bevin with Michael Jackson’s Rock With You. He sang, he danced, but forgot one crucial thing – to do the moonwalk. However, that didn’t take anything away from the act. Randall waxed lyrical. “I’ve seen people try to do Rock With You, but I’ve never seen anyone actually DO Rock With You!”
Keegan tapped into his sensual side, seducing the audience with Daddy’s Home by Usher – complete with a golden throne and not one but THREE beds! Randall called it the consummate performance, Unathi loved that he didn’t hold back and Gareth declared: “Whatever you’re doing, keep on doing!”
There were mixed reactions to Lucia’s performance. She went local with Malaika’s Destiny, adding some kasi flavour to the night. Somizi didn’t mince his words; he hated it. Unathi and Gareth said they liked the maturity in the performance, and Gareth said it could have done with some energy.
Terra Cox put on an entire production with an Emergency Room theme for his performance of Love on the Brain by Rihanna. Somizi called him authentic. “You are definitely here to win it; you are not here for any games. Your head doesn’t get any bigger, only your hair does!”
Thami promised an epic performance and (almost) delivered. He sang Neo’s club banger Closer. Somizi could not fault his vocals, but encouraged the young man to let himself go. Randall concurred, saying “If you’re here next week, you’ve got to give yourself. Not your best; yourself.”
Bringing the show to a close was Tebogo, with a hyper-energetic performance of Treasure by Bruno Mars. Even when his mic got switched off, he still went on with the performance like a consummate professional. The judges were extremely impressed. “This isn’t anyone’s game yet, and that’s what makes this so exciting. Great performance,” said Gareth.
What a way to end the Showstopper Night!
