There’s something special about the Top 5. It’s hard to put one’s finger on, but – for some reason – making the Top 5 seems to be a significantly stronger achievement than the Top 6. This doesn’t make a lot of sense. It’s just one more week, after all. But it’s real. There’s a psychological achievement attached to making it into tomorrow night’s show.
Of course, it’s not all in our minds. In just a fortnight, we’ll start seeing the finalists release singles and music videos. We’ll start seeing them deliver their own creative stamp on their performances. In short: we’ll start to see them as unique, creative individuals, rather than as contestants in a singing competition. Even shorter: they will become artists.
While the winner of the competition is guaranteed a music deal with a local label, last year saw finalists earn that spot without even winning. Just making it to the Top 3 was enough to get them a job, and the Top 3 is not so terribly far away, and we have already seen stunning performances from every one of the Top 6, so it wouldn’t be out of nowhere to see Oskido throwing contracts at the stage to see what sticks.
Whatever happens tomorrow night, the finalists who have earned the votes to make it onto stage to perform have a future in music: we could expect tours, singles, and albums from every one of them, and – in turn – they could expect audiences. They’ve earned them.
Catch the Idols SA contestants live on Mzansi Magic at 17:00 on Sundays. Follow the action on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok using #IdolsSA.