The Idols SA competition is at the stage where there are only two contestants are left – crooning sensation Karabo and Mmatema who will now fight it out for the 2015 title.
Karabo seemed unlikely to make it this far, but he is clearly the dark horse of the competition and has wisely used his time on the show to better his talents.
Mmatema came back to the show for the third time, hoping for a break and this time, she has been lucky.
“I am very excited and grateful for all the people who voted.”
Looking back on previous shows where she has been less successful, Mmatema is grateful she is now in the top two. “I did a lot of research to find out what was needed in the competition. I realised there was a lot of stuff I had to learn,” she said.
Although she has made it to the end as one of the top two, her road has not been an easy one. She has been in the bottom two numerous times.
“There is no trick to make it better. Every time I get on stage I say a little prayer. I can’t say that that prepares me, I guess you’ve just got to go with the flow,” she said.
If she wins, she will make history as the first black woman to win Idols SA.
“It would be an honour to win and so I am not really focused on being the first black woman who did it. However, that said, it would be great to go down in history as the person who achieved that milestone,” she said.
Once Idols SA is over, Mmatema has big dreams.
“I will be doing several genres, but also striking a balance as much as I can. I hope to work with people like Ntokozo Mbambo and Khaya in gospel. I also want to work with Donald and Brian McKnight,” she said.
While Mmatema is animated, Karabo is cool and calm – the quintessential R&B singer. “I would say that so far I feel good. I literally joined Twitter and Facebook when the competition started and I got a lot of love.”
Idols SA judge Somizi Mhlongo has long been on his case about being too rigid, but having come this far, Karabo is glad he no longer has that tag.
“I had to work hard to make sure that Somizi looked at me differently. It wasn’t easy but I am glad we are here. Win or lose, I am just looking forward to the music that comes after,” he said.
The ultimate prize in Idols SA is around R1.2-million and Karabo has a good idea of how he will use the money should he win.
“I really want to give back to the community that gave me this platform. I also want to invest in equipment. Maybe Mmatema and I could talk about sharing some of it, we will see,” he said.
Catch the Idols SA Season 11 finale on Sunday on M-Net (DStv Channel 101) and Mzansi Magic (DStv Channel 161). It is also available on DStv Catch Up.