TEN of the 78 Idols SA finalists who head off to Sun City for the next phase of the reality television show, known as “Hell Week”, are from the Eastern Cape.
Those who triumph there will make the Top 16, and perform for viewers’ votes at the State Theatre in Pretoria.
“The Eastern Cape has produced exceptionally good talent this year. There could even be one or two Top 16 contestants from the region,” Idols SA spokeswoman Lani Lombard said.
To audition, most contestants had to travel to Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, or Pretoria, bearing testimony to the talent and resilience of Eastern Cape hopefuls.
During the first few seasons of Idols SA, auditions had been held in Port Elizabeth, but the number of entries had not justified the expense and it had been decided to partner with Algoa FM to send contestants to Johannesburg at Idols’ cost, Lombard said.
This year saw the most contestants from the Eastern Cape receiving golden tickets since Idols stopped holding auditions there.
The 10 Eastern Cape contestants are Anelisa Motaung, 24, (Port Elizabeth); Earl Deetlefs, 26, (Port Elizabeth); Emma Ellis, 20, (Port Elizabeth) who is also a women’s rugby player; Amanda Antony, 22, (Port Elizabeth); Mandla Bacela, 29, (Butterworth), who is also a doctor; Daniel Minnie, 19, (Port Elizabeth); Alton Zakay, 23, (Port Elizabeth); Loyiso Gijana, 16, (Uitenhage), a Muir College pupil; Eugene Lucas, 27, (Port Elizabeth), and Msawenkosi Mahlangu, 27, (Matatiele).
-Aron Hyman
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