THE TOP 16 have sung and now we head for the top 10, or is it 11?
Thanks to a glitch in the DStv system, we will have a Top 11 this year. In the past, one of the judges, Unathi Msengana (pictured), has always been able to more or less guess who would take the top spot, but this year the singer said that her “prophetic” powers were in trouble.
“It’s not even about who is going to win, but the entire show is a surprise this year. The producers keep changing things and we as judges are kept in the dark as well so our reactions are authentic,” said Msengana.
Speaking about the remaining contestants, Msengana felt that, unlike previous instalments of the franchise, there is not yet a clear winner this season so South Africa will have to decide.
“I am confused because it is so dynamic and what I love about them is that it is a very unassuming group. When we came out of the theatre week everyone wasn’t sure if we had a great bunch of musicians and they kept comparing it to last year and thought it was not as good. Yet I feel the Top 16 performances were so dynamic because most of them play musical instruments which is also something we never had,” she said.
“The other judges and the crew even call me the “prophetess” because between us, I told them I had a good feeling about Khaya Mthethwa and he won. I said the same for Musa Sukwene and he, too, won, but this year I cannot openly tell who it is.
“The ones who won were a lucky guess, but even without telling you names this time, I have nothing, it’s anyone’s game,” she said.
One of the qualms that people have with Idols SA and shows like it is that they feature great talent but we don’t see much of the contestants once the TV show is over.
As a musician who is in the industry, Msengana spoke about life after Idols and how she felt the former contestants should navigate the music industry in search of some sort of success.
“It’s a conversation I have behind the scenes with deep empathy and a lot of hurt because I do want to see more of the Top 10 recording and joining us on stage. It is so hard because if you think of the Idols scene, you are celebrated every week and you have an enormous support structure every day and then the morning after Idols it’s all gone.
“I always say, don’t lose the hope and the momentum because your muscle is thinner and your time is moving slower, just use that to find yourself away from the camera,” she said.
“Professionally, organise yourself because we know that musically you have it. I think it is the business model that doesn’t allow them to re-exalt themselves to come and join us performing artists.
“I always say to the winner: ‘Don’t rest on your laurels and treat it like your first day. Drop the ego, go back to the basics and make yourself raw, naked and vulnerable again so that drive can hit you,’” she said.
• Idols SA, Sunday at 5.30pm on M-Net (DStv channel 101) and Mzansi Magic (channel 161).