Bay’s ‘Idols’ deserving of votes

[caption id="attachment_101581" align="alignright" width="402"] Amanda Antony, 22, of Beverley Grove, Port Elizabeth, and Loyiso Gijana, 16, of Uitenhage[/caption]

Still time for public to help keep Amanda, Loyiso in contest

THERE are just a few hours left to vote for Nelson Mandela Bay’s two Idols top 10 finalists and secure them a spot in the next round.

Amanda Antony, 22, of Beverley Grove, Port Elizabeth, and Loyiso Gijana, 16, of Uitenhage, performed songs on Sunday chosen by the judges – Gareth Cliff, Somizi Mhlongo, Unathi Msengana and Randall Abrahams.

Both of them impressed the judges, Antony with her rendition of Jessie Ware’s Say you love me and Loyiso with his spin on Emile Sande’s Next to me.

The two breezed through to the top 10 last week, but the competition will be heating up as the singer with the least votes gets booted off weekly from Sunday.

Cliff, who picked the song Antony performed, was first to commend her.

“Yup, you did it,” he commented happily on her performance. “That’s what I wanted to hear from you. I wanted you to make your mark this week.”

Mhlongo said it was about time Antony realised where her true strength lay. Msengana thought she had proved she deserved to be on this stage and Abrahams felt she had given the song a Joan Armatrading treatment.

“Completely different from how Jessie Ware does it,” he said. “And that’s a good thing.”

Loyiso’s Next to me was from Mhlongo’s playlist.

“Excellent song choice by Somizi, but your interpretation is what made it great,” Cliff said.

-Yoliswa Sobuwa