Idols Top 8 Review

So last night the Idols Top 8 tackled the R&B theme. I missed the show, but I’m catching up on all the action via the official site. Here’s what I thought of last night’s performances (in no particular order):

Erin- I said last week I was a bit worried about her taking on Beyonce‘s ‘Halo’. Watching her perform it, I was pleasantly surprised. I think she did a nice version of the track. Much better than I expected.

Mark- Eish! Not so sure about this one. It’s safe but dare I say it was a little boring.

Kelly- Great performance. I think that could save her because her vocal wasn’t the best. I think she’s great though so I hope she’ll get to perform again. Just one observation, her accent is quite apparent when she sings. Anyone else noticed that?

Freddie- Freddie the free spirit took on the late Amy Winehouse‘s ‘Rehab‘. You can see he tried channeling his inner Amy (yes we all have one) but I don’t think he pulled it off as well as I’d hoped he would.

Dene- She chooses so well. For this show she tackled Christina Aguilera‘s ‘The Voice Within‘. She did a great job at this song! She amazes me. So young and yet so powerful! Great work!

Dave- Who knew a rocker could do Marvin Gaye‘s ‘Sexual Healing‘ so well? WOW!!! That was amazeballs!

Crushanda- She sang Whitney’s ‘Learned From The Best’. Clearly she did. How are those pipes? Girl can hit the right notes… right up top there. Nice!

Lefa- He took on one of my favourite artists of all time, Mr John Legend and a song that cemented him as a top player in the music biz (No Ordinary People). He did it well, like I expected.

So who should be in the bottom three this week. It’s tough. If I could pick a bottom four I’d go with Freddie, Mark, Kelly and Erin… It’s based on votes though, so let’s see how it goes!

 

Amy Winehouse is dead

Soul singer Amy Winehouse is dead. According to reports out of the UK, the “Rehab” singer was found in North London apartment. The police are treating the case as “unexplained”. The star, who struggled with drug and alcohol abuse, was recently booed offstage at a concert recently for allegedly being under the influence.  Terribly sad news.  More to follow on this sad news in the days to come.

My Idols favourites so far

The new season of Idols is well underway now. I must admit I tend to agree with judge Gareth Cliff when he said Polokwane lacked a bit of talent. There were a few hopefuls I liked but for the most part they weren’t great. So when I watched the beginning of the show last night, I thought to myself oh boy Durban, where did all your talent go? Well that was until some of these contestants showed up. First up you can see Jonathan Grayston (pictured above), who still gives me goosebumps! Yoh, what a pleasant surprise. Kid is amazeballs! Watch his audition here.

Prime Zulu entered the competition last year. When he sang I was sold, so were the judges. Unfortunately he didn’t last very long in the top 100. He’s now back and he has a second chance. I still think he’s got the goods to make it big. Plus his version of Beyonce’s Hello was touching. Watch his audition and let me know what you think.

16-year-old Shekhinah Donnell has a good back story. The young starlet shared her story about being adopted when she was younger. Her father encouraged her to enter the competition and boy did it pay off.

She blew every one of the judges away with her version of crack is whack Amy Winehouse’s song Rehab. She even got a hug from the normally cold-as-ice Randall Abrahams. Watch her audition now.

Another youngster who performed really nicely was Josslynn Hlenti. The 20-year-old PA entered in the hopes of hitting it big and making enough money to improve both her and her family’s lifestyle. I’ve seen her before but I can’t quite seem to place hey. Anyone who can help, that would be rad! A few other names to watch out for: Erin Fourie, Phillip Du Plessis, Sibusiswe Jali and according to the judges Melissa Allison too. This girl you might recognise from another reality show called High School Musical: Spotlight South Africa.

Some people you wont fortunately or unfortunately get to see too much of:

Kurt’s biggest critic Zandrie. “He doesnt haf da punch dat more English songs have for me.” Needless to say she had Unathi in tears- and I’m sure many others around the country.

Reece Jude Morgan. His dress sense is enough to make you LOL all over the place There was a girl who was told to show off her ‘range’ by removing her clothes. Her name is Paige and she wasn’t the ugliest person I’ve ever seen in my life We could see her again.

I’m told the Joburg auditions this weekend are just as good as the Durban ones. Tune in this Sunday at 17:30 on M-Net, channel 101 on DStv.