After so many hissy fits, tears and forced R'nB performances, the search for South Africa's Coco-Cola Popstars has ended. A round of applause for Adilah, meaning "equal" in Swahili. We now pause for a fit of the giggles...
But hey, after the dismally unsexy and stupifyingly boring 101 of last year, it is hoped that Adilah will take the cake...perform wonderfully catchy tunes and have a more stylish wardrobe than 101. Saints, denim never looked so boring! Remember their CD cover? Insipid, bland...zzzz.
Adilah should have a better chance at winning the public over as they have Papama Mtwisha as their stylist. I gather competition organisers and producers are in a bit of toestand.
I have it on good authority that playtime is now over, and that they are going to be styled and primped and prepped and facialed and bodywrapped.
At first the top 10 finalist were given carte blanche in styling themselves with the sponsored clothing from RJL, but "now with the top five it (styling) will be tightly controlled", Mtwisha said.
So how does a girl style five singing sensations? Having been in the selection process for three months with the prospective popstars, Mtwisha has had enough time to segment and categorise personalities. It starts with their creative essence, but she refines the look with each individual's personal stash of trendy clothing from RJL, valued at R20 000.
Mtwisha is 22 years old (stressful job for such a young kid), but has earned her brownie points in the fashion world, having studied fashion design at Wits Technikon, been the junior fashion editor of True Love magazine, fashion and beauty editorix for Soul Mag and Sunday World, as well as a freelance stylist for O Magazine. She has also styled many celebrities.
Anyway, Mtwisha is more than fit to style the young 'uns. Thembisile Ntaka is 21 years old and the crowned diva of the group.
"She's the bigger one of them all and I would put her in outfits that are sexy, but elegantly so."
Rustenberg girlie Karabo Motlhabi is "the baby of the group" weighing in at 18 years old, Libran and "she has a voluptuous body which I would put in more cargo style clothing, as she is more of a tomboy".
"One must also understand that theirs is not going to be a defined look," she said.
And to who do we send our beautifully composed prayer of thanksgiving for that? Former Popstars 101 is sooo denim, sooo yesterday, sooo...mediocre. Sigh
Itumeleng Kgosana is the boy wonder of the group, with a strong voice, and also plays piano and Mtwisha took his relaxed personality into account.
"He reminds me of Lenny Kravitz, so perhaps I'll put him in torn denims."
Sigh. I tend to do that a lot...but you can't win them all. Denim is here to stay, but with competent damage control, all things are possible.
Other Adilah members are 21-year-old Johannesburg songstress Refiloe Motha and Letang Tlome, 22 years old from Pretoria.
Adilah, the equal ones, will be in Cape Town on Saturday, September 13. Keep yourself glued. Ciao-mein.