The Voice SA: Episode 4

It’s game on again for Karen Zoid!

Coach Karen Zoid is in her element again after this week’s episode of M-Net’s new flagship singing contest, The Voice SA.  After last week’s disappointment of not adding any performers to her team – and losing out on fabulous talent – South Africa’s beloved rocker overtook fellow coaches Kahn Morbee, Bobby van Jaarsveld and Lira by convincing four of the eight chosen singers to join her. Going forward, her team now consists of 9 strong contenders, while previous frontrunners Kahn and Lira stand on 8 each and Bobby on 7.

The talent that picked Karen to mentor them includes classically trained singer Sibongile Sibeko (39) from Pretoria who, surprisingly, put her own spin on coach Lira’s song “Feel Good”; 28-year-old Sofaya from Johannesburg, whose to  accomplished rendition of Jennifer Hudson’s “One Night Only” had all four of the coaches turning their red chairs; Nadine Sisam (28) from Cape Town, who proved that dynamite and big voices do sometimes come in small packages; and Zaretha Duvenhage (23) from Centurion, who auditioned with the famous Koos Kombuis song “Lisa se Klavier”.  A delighted Karen wanted Zaretha’s music “to be in everyone’s ears.”

There was one singer, however, whom Karen fought hard for, but lost to fellow Afrikaans superstar Bobby van Jaarsveld: Gavin Edwards (37) from Johannesburg. Originally from Durban and now living in Jozi, Gavin has been working abroad for the past 14 years, but the rock ‘n roll lifestyle took its toll and he recently returned home to sober up and start afresh. Gavin entered the fast lane when Brain McFadden from Westlife spotted his band at Sun City and flew them over to LA. While Brian was managing them, Gavin and his band met the likes of Tom Jones and Bono and rubbed shoulders with stars such as Russell Crowe. Over time, he unfortunately also became dependent on alcohol. He knew he had to choose between the bottle and music. Music won. And so did coach Bobby, after employing some sneaky tactics and negotiation skills.

Both Bobby and Kahn snatched up one singer this week respectively. The new addition to Team Kahn is 22-year-old International Relations student from Stellenbosch, Francis Bowers, whose deep voice and flawless rendition of “Skyfall” wowed both Lira and Kahn.

Soulful songstress Lira walked away with two more talented individuals: 30-year-old worship leader Lendel Moonsamy from Durban, as well as the first contestant in the competition to represent the Freestate, English and music teacher William Wolf (33).

At the end of this week’s show, the team stats are:

• 9 singers in #TeamKaren:  Nadine Sisam, Sofaya, Zaretha Duvenhage, Sibongile Sibeko, Jono Grayson, Nontu X, Tulla Eckart, Thembeka Mnguni and Marcel de Almeida.
• 8 singers in #TeamKahn: Francis Bowers, Michelle Moodie, Richard Stirton, Clemour Ngobeni, Johan Anker, Eden Myrrh, Zé and Prime Zulu.
• 8 singers in #TeamLira: William Wolf, Lendel Moonsamy, Sibulele Miti, Robin Pieters, Kimberleigh van der Ventel, El Clay, Jeremy Olivier and Austin Lurring.
• 7 singers in #Team Bobby: Gavin Edwards, Chanel Davids, Xanilee Hammond, Abel Knobel, Lana Crowster, Jessica Martins and Mbijana Sibisi.

For more information about this week’s chosen talent and how the competition works, go tomnet.tv/thevoice. Also remember to download The VoiceSA app on Android or iOS to play real-time games and stay up to speed with the latest news about the show.

You can also join The Voice SA conversation on “The Voice SA” Facebook page, and via Twitter on @VoiceSA with the hashtag #TheVoiceSA, or use your WeChat account and check in with the ID MNetTV.

The Voice South Africa is produced for M-Net by AMPN and is sponsored by Dialdirect. Keep an eye on the official website for details about the viewers’ competition, where you could win fantastic prizes courtesy of Samsung.