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Bulelani bids us farewell – Idols SA

News
06 October 2021
Bulelani's Idols SA journey has come to an end, but not before he left a lasting mark on the competition. We take a moment to look over his contribution to Season 17 of Idols SA.
Bulelani farewell cover

The past Sunday’s Idols SA performances were built around the theme of “Mzansi greats”, and it was a rocker! Unfortunately for Bulelani – and for us – he didn’t get to contribute to the show. It’s a pity, because we get the sense that his trademark positivity would have brought a real spark to his intended performance of Caiphus Semenya’s Zipi Inkhomo.

Known as “Mr 247” to his fans due his stellar performance of Mnqobi Yazo’s hit, the 18-year-old Bulelani’s upbeat attitude and palpable humility will certainly be missed by fans of the show, especially his performances of the more up-tempo songs in the repertoire. Here’s a look at how he earned his nickname:

His vocal abilities have never been in question – his ability to move through a range of registers while being able to infuse his performance with energy made many an Idols SA episode all the more worth watching. This ability to induce the tapping of toes was on full display during his performance of Heavy K’s Uyeke:

The guy has range, too: it’s not just a full-bodied song that he can sing, he’s got some falsetto stylings as well, and he rocked those abilities during his Top 16 performance, which more than secured him a place in the upper echelons of the competition:

Unfortunately, it all comes to an end, some time, although it’s a cruel fate that the end came after a stunning performance in the Top 9 show. If singing this well isn’t enough to guarantee that you get through, you must know that the competition is very fierce, indeed:

That was his final solo performance for Idols SA – not a bad note to go out on. Not allowing his elimination to get the better of his character, he characterises his time on Idols as being a period of learning listen, learn and grow, and plans to be consistent and hard-working to maintain his relevance in the industry. Take a look at his farewell video, here:

Not surprisingly – considering all of his performances – Bulelani had his fair share of fans, and they took to Twitter to express their feelings at his departure from the show:

Goodbye, Bulelani, and good luck!