What a strange night! A mixed bag of song choices and and a mixed reaction on the social media feeds.
Every week I’m amazed at the intensity of the responses and the emotional investment from the viewers. Let's not forget it's a TV show. Nobody dies on Idols. Former winner Karin's boyfriend might have killed someone but this is just a singing show.
Favourite “driving” songs was tonight’s theme with the Top 6 singing two songs each. Two of my least favourite songs were selected by Sindi (“I Drove All Night”) and Lloyd (”You’re So Beautiful”) which, in retrospect, did colour my opinion.
Especially in Lloyd’s case, when watching it on TV I must admit that he did perform it well, contrary to my comments on the live show. That happens sometimes. As far as the judges being too harsh, the better the talent the higher the bar should be set. Who wants mediocrity?
Mara is attracting as much attention as Paula Abdul did on American Idol – in fact she’s receiving more attention than the contestants.
We makes jokes about Mara’s age but let’s not forget that she is much older than the rest of us and I have to admire her stamina. She has been working very long hours and still manages to fit everything in.
Sometimes I have to wonder what is going on in her head but there’s no denying that she is a character.
Bongani from Malaika was our guest judge this week. Every week our guest judges are a reminder what phenomenal talent we have in South Africa. I have no doubt that this season of Idols will launch a few new stars into the industry.
And to finish on a positive note, Randall hasn’t complained about the food for at least two weeks! Do you think he is mellowing with time?
Next week it’s down to the Top 5....and down to the wire. The votes are in your hands.
Listen to Gareth on 5FM Mornings from 6 – 9 every weekday morning and follow him at www.garethcliff.com, @GarethCliff on Twitter and join the Facebook Page.