The Sunday Mail
Gwendoline Mugauri —
THEY came, they sang, they slayed!
Tonight, the top two contestants of the South African Idols Season 12 Noma Khumalo (22) and Thami Shobede (28) battle it out for the much sought-after Idols crown, in a highly unpredictable show, which has been described by one of the judges, Randall Abrahams, as “anyone’s game”.
Die-hard Idols fans like myself can testify how nerve-racking the wait can be. Will the female contestant win this time around and shift the show’s fortune for the first time in over five seasons, or will the game belong to the male “returnee”, who is eager to prove that “delay is not denial”?
Besides being an avid follower of reality singing competitions and being a vocalist in my own right, my exhilaration for this season of Idols stems from the two contestants’ names.
They are Thami (short for Thamsanqa) and Noma (short for Nomathamsanqa). My daughter’s name is Nomathamsanqa, which means mother of blessings; catch my drift?
Here is a “mother of blessings” (Nomathamsanqa) and a “blessing” (Thamsanqa) going head-to-head — it is a definite thriller. Who will get more blessings tonight and walk away the winner?
I concluded that the excitement and tension driven by this reality singing competition is reminiscent of the just ended USA elections!
It was Trump versus Clinton. An all-time shocker was brewed when the “anticipated” winner, Clinton, lost!
That is what votes do. Last season’s Idols SA was a replica of a Trump versus Clinton battle —crowd favourite Mmathema Moremi lost the Idols title to dark horse, Karabo Mogane, who walked away with a prize package worth R1,2 million.
Mmathema walked away empty handed. In season nine of Idols the very same happened when Musa Sukwene scooped the Idols title, leaving Brenden Ledwaba’s fans in utter shock as he had also proven to be a crowd favourite.
After such experiences, allow me to warn everyone, “Never celebrate too early!”
Last Sunday, I also had my own wake-up call when my personal predictions of the top two went up in smoke. The final three were Thami, Noma and Tebogo Louw (24). An atmosphere of anxiety engulfed the auditorium as the top three was being cut down to the final two.
One could literally feel the tension build-up as the contestants could be seen shivering with nervousness. I thought the grand finale belonged to Thami and Tebogo, and thereby create a record in Idols SA where two returning contestants make it into the finals.
At least my sentiments were not isolated as I shared them with Idols judges Randall Abrahams, Gareth Cliff and Somizi Mhlongo, who strongly deduced the predictions from last week’s performances.
They thought Noma had a weak performance, which could sabotage her place in the grand finale, so did I.
However, when Idols presenter Proverb announced that Noma was safe, the heavily built but mellow-voiced sensation almost had a heart attack! One could tell by the way she tightly clasped her mouth, eyes popping out and teary.
I am sure she had already written herself off the top two after three judges predicted her out. Once again, votes proved them wrong.
Thami had an overwhelmingly positive prediction from the judges and the crowd in general so it became a little bit obvious that he was the other half of the grand finale.
Sadly, Tebogo bowed out for a Noma versus Thami climax. It was, however, not a complete loss for Tebogo because unlike the rest of the other contestants who dropped out from the top three in the last 11 seasons, he walked away with a debut single under his sleeve courtesy of Idols.
This season saw yet another first, as the top three contestants recorded their debut singles and performed them live on stage before the elimination.
In the previous seasons, only the final two got to release debut singles with accompanying videos.
Noma was the first one to take to the stage with her upbeat dance tune called “Want It To Feel Like It Did With You”, which got her fans clapping along to the beat.
Thami was next with his soulfully heart-melting love jam called “Sthandwa”. All you could hear were ladies screaming to his seductive voice and unbeatable charm. He surely does have the ladies wrapped around his finger!
Last on stage to deliver his original production was Tebogo with his rock and reggae infused song called “Do It Again”. Initially, Tebogo was my favourite, especially after theatre week when he sang Nathi’s love ballad “Nomvula”.
I crossed my fingers that he would make it far in the competition this time around, especially after being denied a spot in the top 16 twice, consecutively, in season 10 and 11.
His drive and courage ultimately sealed his success and he holds the record for getting Judge Unathi Msengana’s first cry of the season during the preliminary auditions.
Dropping off the top three was more than a job well done for Tebogo. Our top two came a long way and I have watched them perform week in, week out since their very first audition.
Noma, a student primary school teacher loves children, but music is in her blood. The 22-year-old from Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, lives with her parents and younger brother and hopes to land a recording deal.
Meanwhile, she looks forward to completing her Bachelor of Education at UNISA. When she first walked into the audition room, the judges were shocked by her soulful voice, thereby showering her with four yeses.
She fought her way through the rigorous theatre week, also known as “hell week”, landing herself a spot in the top 16. She has consistently kept herself afloat throughout the live shows, with one or two cheesy performances but above all else her strong vocal range and polished pieces have kept her in the game.
Tonight, we await to find out if she can re-create the euphoria of a female Idols winner. As for Thami, the smooth-sailing 28-year-old from Mtubatuba in KwaZulu-Natal lives on his own and is a full time musician, actor and presenter.
He plans to continue with his career in the entertainment industry regardless of the outcome of his Idols journey. When he walked into the auditorium this season, Randall had an obvious distaste for him because he was a “returnee”, a term used by the judges to describe a fallen contestant who returns to audition again. He was not going to have it easy with the stone-cold judge.
It was because unlike most returnees, Thami had made it into the top 16 last season, but failed to gunner enough votes to land him a spot in the top 10. Therefore, he returned for another trial.
Luckily, he got four nods in his first audition mainly because he happened to have been the best vocally that day according to the judges.
Unathi even confessed, “South Africa owes you an apology Thami.
We did our best and put you in the top 16 but you were let down by your fans. They have to make amends.” Surely, true to Unathi’s word, Thami’s fans have indisputably apologised and voted for him into the grand finale.
Do not get it twisted, this boy deserves every single vote, he devised a strategy that billed his success. He made sure he played safe throughout the competition up until the top five performances.
He instantly upped his game and stole the limelight from Terra Cox (24) who had dominated the show but lost his game and went only as far as top four.
Thami undoubtedly became my favourite, stealing the soft spot I had for Tebogo.
His passion and hunger for the ultimate prize is unbelievable. He has kept himself at the top, and is surely holding the most predicts for winning.
Besides being eye-candy and a ladies’ favourite, his voice can go from “riding a horse to melting a tablet”, so they say. His showmanship is over the top, and he has proven to the judges that whatever it is that did not work for him last season, is surely doing wonders for him this season.
As for my personal prediction, I would say he is my ultimate winner! However, I leave space for a heartbreak as I know that the results may turn otherwise as is custom with these shows involving votes.
Remember Brenden, Mmathema and most recently Hilary Clinton! Anything is possible, indeed it is anyone’s game.
