Idols SA announces top 5

The first round went well with judges Unathi Nkayi and Randall Abrahams as well as guest judge Khaya Dladla not holding back on their compliments. Unathi described Karabo’s rendition of Amanda Black’s ‘Thandwa Ndim’ as incredibly powerful, while Randall remarked that everything about Daylin Sass’ performance of Liquideep’s ‘Fairytale’ was good. S’22Kile struck gold with her take on Bucie’s ‘Easy to Love’, with both Randall and Unathi saying it was her best performance to date, and Khaya calling her “precious”.

The shower of compliments continued, with Berry told she was the complete package and overflowing with talent after she sang Craig Lucas’s ‘Happy’. After Kevin’s rendition of Afrotraction’s ‘Mnike’, Khaya described him as a superstar and Unathi remarked there was nothing negative she could say about his phenomenal performance.

The second half of the show was, however, met with mixed feedback, with contestants like Karabo (‘River Deep Mountain High’ by Tina Turner), Daylin Sass (‘Whataya Want From Me’ by Adam Lambert) and S’22Kile (‘Love On The Brain’ by Rihanna) leaving Randall somewhat unsatisfied even as Unathi and Khaya were full of praise.

However, the judges were unanimous about Berry and Kevin’s performances. Berry performed Lady Gaga’s ‘Edge of Glory’ and had the judges calling her “phenomenal” once again, with Randall praising her choice of song. The audience’s reaction to Kevin’s performance of Stevie Wonder’s ‘As’ said it all and all the judges could do was to put into words the rapturous applause. Khaya was ready to declare Kevin an Idol, while Randall said it was a great performance. Unathi was reduced to tears at the thought of witnessing him see his dreams come true.

Unathi said she was impressed by the performances and was proud to witness the evolution of each contestant: “We have seen them grow and improve week by week and we are proud to see their talent continue to blossom. At this stage of the competition, we are confident that all of them are going to make it big in the music industry and it is humbling to have witnesses their journey from hopeful stars to performers in their own right.”

She added: “I don’t know who is going to be 2021’s Idols SA winner, but all I can say is that they are all already winners.”

The next round of Idols SA takes place on 31 October.