She made us realise that she was born to fly when she sang John Legend’s ‘So High’ as her first audition piece. Nqobie was able to put her mental health battles to win her audition war and in turn, heightened the emotions in that room through the power of her voice alone – her voice carries serotonin!
Throughout her whole Hell Week journey, she presented a side to heaven by virtue of her nature and resilience. She is by far the true definition of ‘calm’ – and during Theatre Week, that’s exactly what you want. It’s not dubbed “Hell Week” for nothing!
She fared well all on her own and in a group, she thrived! She was grouped with Ithana and Itumeleng for group rounds singing Brownstone’s ‘If You Love Me’ and that performance was among the best of them for that round! We’re pretty sure that this was the exact moment South Ah woke up and took proper notice of her and got to love her!
And just as Mzansi rose to take notice of the force that is Nqobie, she performed Sun-El Musician’s ‘Ilanga’ ft Amu Faku and Simmy which speaks to the setting of the sun. But as she sang that song, her star kept rising, winning the hearts of the media that was present to witness the solo performances, as well as the judges who recognised ‘THAT THING’ in her from her inception on the show.
One thing that Nqobie has not done throughout her journey of the show is rely on her own trials and tribulations – they never deterred her from her goal and never once interfered with her resilience! Each week, she’d voice how every song choice was handed to her wasn’t her strongest genre BUT she’d kill every week! In episode 11, they were all faced with the pleasure and task to perform some of SA’s best DJ’s songs ALONGSIDE the DJ’s. The pressure right!? But not for Nqobie! She breezed through her performance of yet another Sun-El Musician’s song, ‘Akanamali’ (ft Samthing Soweto) and made it sound just as good as the original… You ever had those very sweet classmates that said they didn’t study for a test and ended up getting more marks than you, that studied, in a test? Nqobie did THAT!
Eventually, we caught onto Nqobie and accepted that whatever is set before her, no matter how big, she’ll come out bigger and better! Episode 12, she performed another vibe of a track by Soulful G and Soa Mattrix, an amapiano song, which quickly set her aside from her peers – two dance songs in a row and she didn’t flinch or bat an eyelid? She hardly broke a sweat while performing ‘Uthando’ and gained herself uthando from her nation and beyond in the process!
She stole even more hearts when she perfectly honoured the late great, South African songstress and legend, Lebo Mathosa, when she allowed her talent to overflow into ‘I Love Music’ – it was Nqobie’s ability to understand that as much as this was her moment in the spotlight, it was not her time to try too hard to make herself overtly seen. The respect she garnered from the late Lebo Mathosa’s industry mates, peers and fans was enough to catapult her to the next stage. WATCH!
There is essentially a lot of good that can be said about Nqobie, but we feel that one of the greatest and true compliments shared with her was when Mr. A compared her demeanor and aura on stage to that of living legend, Sade! And not once BUT TWICE! And we couldn’t agree more – she’s a smooth operator, a gentle soul, has a powerful baritone and a strong presence. And those are just some of the likenings we’re highlighting right now, but there are so much more.
When you speak of Sade, you remember power, peace, strength, gentleness and quiet everlasting stardom that cannot be startled – and that’s Nqobie to a T. Zonke... we're holding you to that song you said you'd write for her – the internet never forgets!
Season 17 of Idols SA broadcasts on Sundays at 17:00 on Mzansi Magic Channel 161. Get exclusive updates and a behind the scenes look at all the action right here on our website. Don't forget to join the conversation by following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #IdolsSA.