The Voice SA: Team Bobby Leads with 10 Singers

Bobby hits a four-chair-turn hat trick!

Bobby van Jaarsveld

In Sunday’s episode of The Voice SA, coach Bobby van Jaarsveld hit a hat trick for the season as one more gifted vocalist picked him over all three of his fellow coaches in an audition that was worthy of four turns of the coaches’ iconic red chairs. 31-year-old Josh Ansley from Johannesburg took to the stage as the final talent of the night, determined to wow the coaches with a blistering rendition of the AC/DC head-banging classic “Shook Me All Night Long”. Josh, who started performing as a regular on the Barnyard Theatre circuit a few years ago brought the house down with his performance, having the coaches in stitches with his witty banter, and also receiving high praise in the process. Karen Zoid told Josh that he really gave it his all and was welcome in #TeamKaren, but it was Bobby who turned for him first, and with that, Josh picked a visibly elated Bobby as his coach.

The Afrikaans pop star also gained two more unique singers tonight, bringing his team total up to 10 vocalists. The first voice that resonated with Bobby was that of 25-year-old rock ‘n roller Meggan Moore from Langebaan. Her rendition of KT Tunstall’s “Black Horse and a Cherry Tree” connected with Bobby as he told her that he’s never had a female rock artist in his team before, and that Meggan’s “smoky, earthy tone” was exactly what he was looking for. Another talent that made Bobby sit up and listen was 23-year-old electrical engineering student Jean Citto from Cape Town, who performed the Corinne Bailey Rae classic “Put Your Records On”. “I heard a great tone in your voice and I can’t wait to work with you because there are in fact so many different songs that I want you to sing,” Bobby praised Jean.

Another highlight of the evening came when 33-year-old Capetonian vocal coach Monique Hellenberg stepped on to the stage. Monique is no stranger to the music industry, as she is the voice behind South African band Goldfish’s 2008 smash hit “This Is How It Goes”. Her rendition of Christina Aguilera’s “I Turn To You” earned her very high praise from coach Lira who complimented her on her impressive range, but ultimately Monique landed a spot on #TeamKahn as he turned for her just before her audition song ended. Monique wasn’t the only talent who made it onto the Parlotones front man’s team tonight, however. Sonia Mörsner (24) from Vereeniging’s sincere and haunting rendition of Nianell’s “Who Painted The Moon Black” was enough to get three of the four coaches to turn for her. Despite much flattery from both Karen and Lira – and Kahn even pushing their chair buzzers to make them turn back away from Sonia – she inevitably picked her spot on #TeamKahn, as he was the coach that turned for her first.

Coach Lira, who was leading the team tally last week, was clearly playing a strategic game tonight as she added no new singers to her team, but Karen Zoid garnered one special singer for her team in an unforgettable audition. Emma Ellis (21) from Port Elizabeth confessed before her audition that her Voice SA dream was for coach Karen Zoid to turn for her, and while she was performing The Plain White Ts’s “Hey There Delilah”, Karen did just that! Emma got such a shock that it literally took her breath – and her lyrics – away! Lost for words mid-way through her song, Karen joined Emma on stage to assist her in finishing the audition together, and with that, the three other coaches all pressed their buzzers to enjoy the rest of the performance. Despite the fact that Emma forgot her lyrics, she received four legitimate turns from the coaches with Lira explaining that once Emma picked up from where she left off in the song, she absolutely deserved all of their turns and her spot in the competition. It seemed fated from the start, however, that Emma should be on #TeamKaren so it was no surprise when she picked the rocker to be her coach.

After tonight’s show, the current team tally has Bobby leading the pack with 10 singers; Karen Zoid’s team total stands at eight along with #TeamLira’s while Kahn Morbee has seven unique vocalists in his stable.

Tune in to The Voice South Africa Season 2 every Sunday night at 17:30 on M-Net Channel 101, or catch the repeat on M-Net City Channel 115 on Monday at 18:00 to see all the buzz-worthy singing sports.Visit www.mnet.tv/thevoice to watch exclusive interviews with the coaches and talent, and follow all the breaking news and conversations around the show on Twitter @VoiceSA / #TheVoiceSA or on the official “Voice SA” Facebook page. You can also download The Voice SA app today for exclusive show-related games and special features.