It was rather amusing watching the announcement of the final top nine at the Fairmont Zimbali Hotel last Friday night. A bunch of us media types were flown down and put up in fine style at the luxury resort. The houses are palatial and it’s where Zonke’s house is situated. It certainly feels more like Sandton by the sea than the KZN north coast.
There is limited access to the beach and then when you finally are there, the shore break is so deep that it is life-threatening to go further than knee-deep. The concept, therefore, is to walk along the beach and swim in the wondrous infinity pools that are scattered around the grounds. The only complaint is the service is slow and the food rather awful.
On the night of the event, the media were told to be there at a certain time. We ended up waiting for about two hours, as again, African time took over when the big wigs from KZN government were probably driving from across the province without their blue lights.
In the meantime I hung with Arno Carstens who was in a very jovial mood. He seems to love his role on television. Having watched the show last Saturday night he definitely suits television and the show captures his eccentric personality wonderfully.
Oskido arrived and joined the table with a round of shots. As usual he was grinning from ear to ear in between talking business with whoever was accompanying him. That man never stops working.
Having been on set when he was choosing his final six artists and then watching the broadcast of the television version, it would appear that the producers do not get his personality. Oskido is quirky, yet straightforward, playful yet observant and accurate.
What you see is what you get with him, and the nation, particularly SABC1 viewers, are au fait with his personality. Yet X Factor portrays him as this boring almost corporate fuddy duddy. Something which he is certainly not. Here is hoping that with the show going live this Saturday, that famous Oskido personality will shine through and not be edited.
Zonke arrived just as the press conference was about to start and again looked glamorous. She has taken to the small screen beauti-fully and has the potential to be a huge television star. The camera loves her and she knows how to play to the camera in turn.
After the speeches by Vodacom and the KZN government, it was time for the judges to give their speeches. Arno Carstens was on form with an exuberant speech in his flowing robes. This was much to the amusement of Oskido who has admitted that the rock star is one of the funniest men he has worked with.
When it came to announcing the top nine, the contestants couldn’t hold back their excitement. It was perhaps the biggest moment of their lives and it was definitely their time to shine as cameras flashed away and media fired questions at them.
At that moment I don’t think that one of those contestants even considered Andy Warhol’s 15 minutes of fame. They were in the moment, a moment they will never forget for the rest of their lives. But also, a moment that, for some of them, will lead to ultimate heartbreak.
On Saturday night at the Olive Convention Centre one person will be eliminated and this will continue until December 13 when a final winner will be announced.
The show is broadcast live on SABC1 from 5.30pm every Saturday with a break for news at 7pm. During this time viewers are encouraged to vote. At 7.30pm X Factor reveals who is eliminated.