The Voice SA Knock-Outs: Sunday 14 May
Catch repeats of The Voice SA on M-Net City channel 115 every Monday at 18:00, or on M-Net channel 101 every Tuesday at 15:30 and Sunday mornings at 09:00.
Last spots filled for the spectacular live shows
Who will end up in coaches Lira and Bobby van Jaarsveld’s teams?
This week on The Voice SA it is the final episode of the Knock-Out rounds before the spectacular live shows – and the public’s votes – kick into play. In Sunday’s episode on 14 May, viewers will find out which two singers coach Lira picks out of her remaining four talent – effervescent Bubbles Mnomiya (23) from Durban, rocker Dylan Pretorius (32) from Pretoria, powerhouse Marissa Petzer (22) from Stilfontein and jazzy Spha Mdlalose (28) from Cape Town. In the first half of Lira’s team Knock-Outs last week, the tough decisions bestowed upon the coach took their toll as she ended up in floods of tears… will this week result in the same stress levels for the songstress? And how will Bobby van Jaarsveld manage to whittle his team down to half their current numbers to select his talent for the live shows?
“As Bobby always says, ’dis moeilik! It’s difficult,” M-Net’s Head of Publicity, Lani Lombard summarises what’s to be expected in this week’s episode. “The talent really are phenomenal and the pressure is on the coaches to shoose strategically to win the competition.”
The following eight talent will perform for the coveted spots in the Lives in #TeamBobby during this week’s Knock-Out show, completing the final Top 16 talent for the live shows:
Alex Cavan (23) from Port Elizabeth had a unique, raspy voice that Bobby liked immediately in his Blind Audition. In the Battle rounds, Alex went up against Jean Citto (24) from Cape Town, and performed “Magic!” by Rude. Unfortunately Karen was critical of Alex’s performance because he had turned his back on the audience during the Battle. But Coach Kahn said that Alex would have been his winner – “that’s someone I would want to watch perform,” he said. Having listened to his colleagues’ input, Bobby decided to choose Alex too, to see what he would bring to the Knock-Outs.
Armand Joubert (21) from eMalahleni received for chair turns from the coaches with his impressive Blind Audition performance, and chose to go with Karen Zoid as his coach. During the Battle rounds, the youngster was up against fellow powerhouse vocalist Samantha Leonard, and despite finding it very difficult, Karen chose to let Armand go… until Bobby pressed his buzzer and stole Armand for his team! With a huge vocal range and powerful pipes, Armand promises to be a valuable addition to #TeamBobby in the Knock-Outs.
The second Steal of the Battle rounds for Bobby came courtesy of a high-energy #TeamLira sing-off. Bryce MacMillan (28) from Johannesburg and Durban’s effervescent Bubbles Mnomiya (23) were up against each other, because Lira recognised that they both enjoy Soul music. And to exploit that to the fullest she assigned them Charlie Puth’s hit “Marvin Gaye”. It was a titanic Battle and Lira was ecstatic. “My pride and joy!” she exclaimed. Lira admitted that neither artist was better than the other, so her choice was tough, but she eventually settled on taking Bubbles through to the next rounds. Fortunately, coach Bobby still had that one last Steal left up his sleeve, and so Bryce became the 8th member of #TeamBobby.
Edgy pop singer and Springbok rugby player Heinrich Brussow’s wife Caroline Brussow (31) from Bloemfontein wowed Bobby in her Blind Audition. Bobby gave Caroline and rocker Meggan Moore (25) from Langebaan the massive Lady Gaga hit “You and I” to perform in the Battle rounds and it promised to be an epic sing-off due to their vastly different singing styles. After a blistering performance where Caroline brought her Country music style out and Meggan stuck to her rock ‘n roll roots, all of the coaches gave the ladies high praise. “To me it was like Afrikaans Is Groot vs. Oppikoppie! This is what music is all about, bringing together different worlds,” coach Karen raved. Having brought a huge hairstyle as well as huge energy to the stage, Caroline was Bobby’s pick for winner.
Coach Bobby set the scene for heartache and disappointment in the Battles when he paired deep-voiced veteran singer Dawie de Jager (33) with the bright-eyed 18-year-old Richard “Rick” Jansen from Pretoria, to perform David Grey’s “Babylon”. Bobby was torn, because he was such a fan of Dawie’s bands Klopjag and Die Tuindwergies back in the day, but he also knew what a find the young Rick was. In the end, he chose Dawie, the singer whom he believed fulfilled the show’s demand for uniqueness and authenticity.
19-year-old Matriculant John-James Janse van Rensburg from Carletonville received four turns in his Blind Audition and in the Battle rounds, coach Bobby put him up against Chad Jubber (19) from Durban. Because they’re both so young he chose a modern ballad for them: Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man”. Coach Bobby pointed out to Chad that his very name, “Chadwick”, means “Battle”. “You belong on the battlefield,” he said. But in the end is was John-James who made it to the Knock-Out rounds, as his sincere performance spoke to his coach.
Banyard Theatre veteran Josh Ansley (33) from Johannesburg also received four coaches’ turns in his blistering Blind Audition with an AC/DC classic. In the Battles, Bobby pitted Josh against Jeanne-Mari Engelbrecht (28) from Strand. Bobby chose Callum Scott’s melancholy ballad “Dancing On My Own” for the two power-house singers to tackle. After a moving performance, all of the coaches gave Josh and Jeanne-Mari a lot of praise for the sensitivity with which they handled their Battle song. When pushed to make a decision, Bobby acknowledged that Josh has appeared in every Barnyard Theatre across the country and is therefore accustomed to the stage, but that despite her lack of similar experience, Jeanne-Mari brought her all to the Battle too. In the end, the more experienced and versatile Josh won a spot in the Knock-Outs.
Bobby also won nerdy chemical engineer Marco Basson (23) for his team after a full house of chair turns in the Blind Auditions and in the Battle rounds, he paired Marco up with Anchen Groenewald (19) from Rustenburg. Going into the Battle, Bobby noted that the song was “begging for attitude” and that’s exactly what both Anchen and Marco brought to the stage. Karen and Lira complimented both performers on doing such an impressive job with such a difficult song, and commended Marco on hitting incredibly high notes with his falsetto. Bobby couldn’t deny Marco’s impressive talent and secured him a spot in the Knock-Outs.
The Voice South Africa, sponsored by Dialdirect, is broadcast every Sunday night on M-Net channel 101 at 17:30 and every Monday night at 18:00 on M-Net City channel 115.
Viewers can also 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.
