On the other side of the coin, North West’s Team Stoan were the first to be sent home by the judges.
Last week ended on a dramatic note as choirmasters had to rid their teams of two singers each, bringing each choir to 12 members. How would they cope with that setback? Spectacularly, it turned out.This week’s challenge from musical director Zadok was a fun one: each choirmaster was tasked with reimagining their own music and changing their hits into choral gold.
First to take the COTCSA stage was Team Ntencane (KZN), who performed his hit ‘Bayangi Sabaweli’ and Phuzekhemisi’s ‘Imbizo’. All judges were impressed, with Buhlebendalo Mda saying: “That made me want to be umZulu. It felt like the final performance.”
Next up, Team Zaza (Free State) performed their own rendition of her track, ‘Imbewu’. Zwai Bala led the judges’ praise: “That is power on its own. Well done, you guys!”
North West’s Team Stoan took on ‘Mo Tshware’, to a mixed response from judges. Dr Tumi said: “I don’t think the leads were the right voices for this type of song.”
Western Cape’s Team Vusi Nova performed ‘Ndikuthandile’. The judges enjoyed it, with Buhlebendalo saying: “Thank you so much for presenting it the way you presented it, thank you for utilising the stage.”
Next up was Team Khanyisa (Mpumalanga), who sang ‘Bheka Mina Ngedwa’, to mostly positive comments from judges. Zwai said: “You guys need to perfect your performances a little more. No more new ideas, just tighten what you already have.”
Team Lady Du (Eastern Cape) took on ‘Umsebenzi Wethu’ and ‘Woza’. The judges had a mixed response, with Dr Tumi saying: “I’m not sure it’s the best you could have done – you could have done so much better.”
Northern Cape’s Team Langa performed his hit ‘Sunday Blues’, impressing the judges and the crowd. Buhlebendalo said: “Thank you for redeeming yourselves to me. It sounded like a choir. I wanted to go to church and praise the Lord.”
Team HLE (Limpopo) took on her track, ‘Dwala’. The judges mostly enjoyed it, but shared some critique, with Zwai saying: “It needs to be tight, otherwise you’re running a risk of it being messy. But well done, and keep up the energy.”
Closing off the show was Gauteng’s Team Prince Kaybee with his hits ‘Gugulethu’ and ‘Charlotte’. The judges felt it lacked creativity, and Dr Tumi said: “The hard thing about these type of songs is that the lyrics are meant to be presented a certain way. So changing them can become a messy exercise.”
As Zwai had said earlier in the episode: “You’re as good as your last performance.” Next week is a new week – who will come out tops and be one step closer to that grand prize of R1-million? Keep tuning in to Clash of the Choirs SA to find out!
Clash of the Choirs SA airs every Sunday at 18:00 on Mzansi Magic (DStv Channel 161), with episodes also available on DStv Stream. Visit our website and find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. Join the conversation using #COTCSA.