With only three weeks left in the competition, the stakes couldn’t be higher for the five contestants left in Idols Season V. Each one of them can see the prize in their sights and they’re singing their hearts out for one more chance to get closer to their goal.

On Sunday, the Top 5 had an interesting musical theme. Each contestant was paired with a radio station which chose a song on their behalf. Sasha Lee Davids (18) from Atlantis in the Cape was adopted by the Eastern Cape’s Algoa FM, and the song they chose for her was “Bleeding Love”, by Leona Lewis. Mara Louw was away this week, so it was up to the three men to judge her performance. Dave commented that Sasha must have been delighted when she heard which song they had chosen for her. “I think it was a great start,” he commented. Gareth said it was a “masterclass”. And Randall reiterated that Sasha and Thembi showed the most improvement throughout the competition, “whereas the other contestants went in an opposite direction”.

KZN’s East Coast Radio adopted their homeboy, Durban’s Jason Hartman (29). For him they selected the moving ballad, “The Living Years”, by Mike & the Mechanics. Dave said that the great demonstration of the Hartmans’ family bond captured in Jason’s video insert, coupled with a very emotional song, would garner Jason a lot of votes. Gareth said he was glad that Jason had handled the song gently. And Randall said it was a “measured performance”.

Capetonian Graeme Watkins (26) was also adopted by his home town. KFM chose a song called “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved” by The Script for him, hoping it would turn out prophetic. “Aaaww,” Dave sighed. “What a nice surprise!” He said it was just the right balance between the vocal, the interaction with the crowd and the melody. Gareth called Graeme “the man that can’t be hated”. But he also cautioned him, when experimenting with his interpretation of a song, not to lose the melody. Randall said it was one of Graeme’s best performances so far.

OFM, in the heartland of South Africa, threw their weight behind Lendel Moonsamy (23) from Durban. For his first performance they chose Maroon 5’s “Sunday Morning”. Dave noted that Lendel seemed “more at ease and comfortable vocally”, even though he still had “some cheesy moves” physically. “Dude,” Gareth said companionably, “you started off really well but the more you went on, I realised there was something missing – some spark…” And Randall said Lendel has a tendency to want to be a nightclub singer rather than an Idol.

Staying close to home, Gauteng’s Jacaranda 94.2 supported Johannesburg’s Thembi Nkosi (19) and they chose a hit from another great Jozi girl, Brenda Fassie’s “Weekend Special”. Dave said it perfectly demonstrated Thembi’s all-round ability – “singing, dancing and smiling!” Gareth said it sounded like Thembi was “channelling Ma Brr!” And Randall said Thembi didn’t even need to come back for the other performance – she could get enough votes with this one!

For their second song of the night, each contestant had to select a song from one of their own musical Idols.

Sasha Lee’s ultimate pop icon is Robbie Williams and she sang his mega-hit “Angels”, but with a twist – she started off singing the Italian version, “Un Angelo”. Dave commended Sasha on “the fact that you’re willing to do the Italian bit.” Gareth seemed more concerned with her appearance – he didn’t like her first outfit. “You look a lot more funky,” he noted. Randall, who notoriously hates Robbie Williams, was happy that the Italian distracted him from the fact that it was a Robbie Williams song.

Jason referenced the master, Stevie Wonder, selecting his upbeat love song “Signed, Sealed, Delivered”. “You can hear from the crowd they didn’t really like it,” Dave deadpanned sarcastically as the audience erupted. Gareth said he was glad Jason had listened to last week’s criticism and chosen a song out of his comfort zone, “and did it beautifully”. Randall commented that Jason was “clearly focused on the prize” now.

Graeme selected a wild card. He became the first Top 10 Idol contestant ever to sing Afrikaans lyrics, singing the wildly popular Kurt Darren hit, “Loslappie”. Dave thought it was about time. “That was the biggest response we’ve ever had,” he noted. “That hit the sweet spot,” said Gareth. “And I llllloved it!” Randall recalled that in one of the previous seasons someone had massacred that song in auditions. “You offered the song some redemption,” he said.

Lendel sang Craig David’s “7 days”. “It was OK,” Dave said listlessly. “Nothing spectacular. Nothing special.” Gareth thought that Lendel would do “extremely well” doing gigs after Idols. And Randall said the performance was good, but not quite consistent.

And Thembi closed the show with “No One”, a hit song by a lady she’s always looked up to, Alicia Keys. Dave thought it was a very nice contrast to her first song. Gareth noted that some people thought it was a pity the judges had no say this year, but he didn’t agree. “South Africa knows talent when it sees talent,” he said. “Fantastic!” said an unusually good-humoured Randall. “You must sing some few more songs next week!”

For the first time in the history of South African Idols, the show can now be viewed in simulcast on Easyview as well as on the Magic World channel on DStv Compact. For South Africans who don’t have M-Net, they can log onto the M-Net website and view all the performances online after the show. This season, the judges have absolutely no say in which contestants go through to the next round – the show’s results are determined entirely by the South African voting public.

The Idols Spectaculars are recorded at the Mosa?ek Teatro in Fairlands, Johannesburg. Tickets are available from Computicket for R40 seated, R20 standing.

For more information, visit the M-Net website: www.mnet.co.za/idols.