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The Idols top 16 women battled it out yesterday for a spot in the top 10.
The ladies were off to a good start because, according to the judges, last night’s performances were much better than the men’s offerings last Sunday.
The women had to sing songs from the Top 40 hits chart and the surprise performances for the night came from Christina Williams, who sang Clown by Emeli Sandé, and Zoë Zana who sang Win to Lose by Fantasia.
Both ladies were the dark horses going into the competition. But after their performances last night, they’re right there at the top with the competition favourites, Tumi Lesenjane and Bunny Majaja.
Tumi, judge Randall Abrahams’ “Thang”, performed Beneath Your Beautiful by Labrinth featuring Emeli Sandé. The judges said she commanded the stage, and that Bunny’s rendition of Passenger’s Let Her Go shows she’s a sophisticated singer.
The audience went crazy when the opening chords of Alicia Keys’ Brand New started up and Amy Jones was getting ready to sing the top 40 hit.
But the judges weren’t thrilled with her performance. According to Randall, Amy depended solely on the song’s chorus to save her performance, which wasn’t enough to blow the judges away.
Contestant Tauna Collier didn’t impress Randall either with her rendition of One Direction’s One Way or Another. But her performance and quirky image are, according to the two other judges, Gareth Cliff and Unathi Msengana, enough to keep her in the competition.
While some stayed in their comfort zones, others tried something new.
“Ballad queen” Carlé van Deventer decided to ditch the ballads and sing something different, and chose Brave by Sara Bareilles. Gareth said it was a great way to open the show.
Crystalene Nair closed the show with an unexpected number by Selena Gomez, Come and Get It, and incorporated some Bollywood dance moves into her performance. Unathi said Crystalene had found the perfect balance between sensual and sexy.
Judging from the performances last night, the ladies are ready to give the guys a run for their money.
Catch the elimination show on Tuesdays at 7.30 pm on M-Net and Mzansi Magic to see who makes it into the top ten.
-Koketso Mashika
