In a shocking result, Idols SA host ProVerb announced at the State Theatre in Pretoriaย that sixteen-year-old Loyiso Gijana had to leave his Idols' dreams behind and return to his studies at Uitenhageโs Muir College.ย Loyiso is the sixthย contestant to be voted off South Africaโs popular singing contest.ย
It was a fierce battle for a spot in this weekโs Top 4, with just under an astonishing nineย million votes cast from last Sundayโs Top 5 Spectacular to the close of voting at 22:00 on Tuesday evening (27 October)ย โ by far the most votes ever cast in any single voting cycle in Idols SA history.
Having just turned sixteenย when he first auditioned back in March, Loy-Loy โ as the irrepressible teenager affectionately became known โ was the baby of Idols SA Season 11, but he dominated the competition from the very beginning. Loyiso was one of the very few contenders who scored yeses from all fourย judges in his original audition, and at Sun City already Somizi Mhlongo told the teen he had a bright future in the music business, after his performance of Usherโs โGood Kisserโ in the solo auditions.
But this youngster from the small Eastern Cape town of Uitenhage always had a bright future anyway. At school he was a very focused student, singing in the school choir and competing in rugby, tennis, and athletics. He was always determined to go to university, even if he should win Idols SA. โEconomics,โ he said. โI want to sell stuff โ be able to package and sell my image to the people.โ Hardly surprising since his stepdad runs a tavern and his mom is an accountant and also runs her own transport business. โGranny also ran her own business, a spaza shop โ so I grew up with entrepreneurship,โ the level-headed young man pointed out at auditions.
That determination was Loyisoโs attitude from the very start of the Top 10 competition. โKeep doing what youโre doing and youโll be in the Top 2,โ Idols SA judge Gareth Cliff predicted after his performance of Emile Sandรฉโs โNext To Meโ in the Top 10 Spectacular. He blew the judges away again the following week in the Top 9 show with the Sara Bareilles ballad, โGravityโ. โYour artistic intelligence is beyond me,โ said an impressed Somizi Mhlongo.
Randall Abrahams thought Loyisoโs performance of the Bobby McFerrin classic โDonโt Worry Be Happyโ in the Top 8 Spectacular was โabsolutely top levelโ, and when he did the House hit โDonโt Look Downโ, by Martin Garrix in the Top 7 โShowstopperโ Spectacular, Randall thought the one quality he had over all of the other contestants was charm.
โI donโt know how to fault you,โ Somizi exclaimed after Loyisoโs dual performances of the Boyz II Men hit โItโs So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterdayโ and โHold Back The Riverโ by James Bay in the โ90s vs Nowโ Top 6 Spectacular. He thought that Loyiso could give the likes of Usher and Chris Brown a run for their money.
In the Top 5 Spectacular Loyiso sang Zaharaโs โNdizaโ and Bob Marleyโs โOne Loveโ. Gareth was impressed that Loyiso had managed to dominate in virtually every genre of music across the competition, but Randall unfortunately didnโt think that Loy-Loyโs performances would be memorable enough to keep him in the competition.
Fans can catch Loyiso live on Arye Kellmanโs Internet-streaming show on CliffCentral at 16:00 onย 2 Novemberย to find out whatโs next for this charismatic youngster.ย ย
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