The final season of Idols SA has kicked off and emotions are running high.
The women in the Top 12 took to the stage on Saturday to compete in solo performances and blockbuster duets with former Idols SA winners for the first live show of the season.
They belted out classics as well as modern favourites at the Mosaïek Teatro in Johannesburg in front of a spirited 2 500-strong audience.
With their fate now entirely in the viewers’ hands, the Top 12 will battle for your votes.
The Western Cape has two contenders in the Top 12 – Neve, 22, from Stellenbosch and Envic, 25, from Grabouw.
Having entered Idols SA last year, Neve knew she couldn’t let her final chance to be on the show slip through her fingers.
“I felt small last year because people can sing,” she says of falling out in the Theatre Week solo rounds. “But this time I gave my best at Theatre Week.”
The self-described mommy’s girl started singing when she was seven years old. By high school, her musician father was her vocal coach, and she would perform with his band.
Envic has been entering singing contests since primary school. In matric, he won a scholarship to the Cape Music Institute, where he studied for two years and learned from music industry legends such as Tevin Campbell.
Hailing from the same area (Grabouw) as Idols SA season 3 winner Karin Kortje, Envic is not just doing this for himself – it’s also about hometown glory.
“So many people in my community are rooting for me and proud of me,” he said.
For Saturday’s performance, Neve partnered with Idols SA season 13 winner Paxton Fielies for Judy Garland’s Somewhere Over The Rainbow, while her solo song was Madison Ryann Ward’s Mirror.
Never received a mixed reaction from the judges, with Somizi Mhlongo saying: “Your lower range is not that strong. You tend to be swallowed up when you go low.”
But, Thembi Seete praised Neve: “What stands out is your voice control. You have a soothing, powerful voice.”
Next Saturday, the gents, Envic, Faith, Nkosi, Sipho, Thabo and Thando will face their first live show performances.
The winner of Idols SA season 19 will walk away with a record deal from JR’s FeelGood Music, a brand-new Toyota Vitz, and their entire Idols SA wardrobe courtesy of Truworths.
Idols SA airs every Saturday at 6pm on Mzansi Magic (DStv Channel 161).