The first selection of songs were chosen for the Top 6 by DJ’s from Idols 6’s radio partners, and for Sindi Nene, Charlton Tobias from Algoa FM selected the stirring Whitney Houston ballad, “I Learned From The Best”.
Gareth Cliff once again commented on Sindi’s versatility as a performer – “I’m so impressed,” he raved.
“My singer is back!” Mara rejoiced, after being disappointed in Sindi last week. “You have one of the most fantastic voices our country’s ever heard,” she praised the young singer. Guest judge Bongani agreed. “Wow!” he exclaimed, “you’ve outdone yourself!” Only Randall cautioned that Sindi needed to start concentrating on singing her song “from the start to the end”…

For the second performance of the evening, the contestants selected their favourite songs to drive by. Sindi kept it literal with Cindi Lauper’s “I Drove All Night”. Gareth Cliff said he was still amazed that so much noise could come from such a small girl and Mara reiterated how happy she was that Sindi was back on form. Bongani commented again on Sindi’s versatility – “You are an entertainer, more than just a vocalist,” he praised. And Randall once again pointed out that that the contestants are now at what he calls “the business end of the competition” and that they would have to choose their songs “exceedingly carefully” from now on.
To vote for Sindi, SMS 03 to 37400, or call 0862277703 from your Telkom landline, or 0839010203 from your cellphone, or vote for Sindi on MXit.

For his DJ’s Choice, Elvis Blue got to sing one of the most iconic songs of our time, the Leonard Cohen anthem “Hallelujah”, chosen for him by Vuzu presenter and YFM DJ Siya Ngwekazi. “You know and I know that you are going to be here for certainly the Top 3,” Gareth predicted. “Hallelujah!” said Mara. “I just want to hear you sing for me and the rest of the country and the rest of the world forever,” she sighed. “You are absolutely brilliant,” Bongani agreed. “I’m your fan,” he told Elvis. But Randall thought the song only really started taking off towards the end, when Elvis started “hitting the big notes”. Up to that point, he complained, Elvis had missed the “intimacy and meaning” of the song.

For the second set of the show tonight, Elvis chose to drive to Train’s “Soul Sister”. “It could have been a little crisper,” was Gareth’s only note, “but it was fantastic”. Uncharacteristically, though, Mara was disappointed – she thought the song didn’t suit Elvis, and Bongani agreed with her. Randall reminded Elvis that he warned him at the start of the competition that it would be a marathon, not a sprint, and cautioned him to get back to the standard he showed at the start.
To vote for Elvis, SMS 10 to 3740, or call 0862277710 from your Telkom landline, or 0839010210 from your cellphone, or vote for Elvis on MXit.

For Durban Boy Lloyd Cele, East Coast Radio’s Abi Ray selected “Haven’t Met You Yet” by Michael Buble as his DJ’s Choice song. “You are, vocally, the most talented person in this competition,” Gareth enthused. Mara agreed, in slightly different language: “Jy’s nca, my broer!” she praised Lloyd. “I need to go home and do some serious practice!” Bongani joked and even Randall was complimentary – “There’s something about you that people like and that’s the most important thing,” he admitted.

For his driving song, romantic Lloyd selected Joe Cocker’s “You Are So Beautiful” and dedicated it to his wife. But despite the standing ovation in the theatre, Gareth thought that song was “meandering and irrelevant” and that it would mean nothing to the young people in the audience who vote. Mara said Lloyd should never dedicate a song to his wife, but rather to himself, “because you are Number One”. Bongani said he “felt” it – “you put soul in the performance,” he thought. Randall agreed with Gareth about the song choice, but “every show needs a standout performance”, he noted, “and tonight you’re the standout performance…”
To vote for Lloyd, SMS 12 to 37400, or call 0862277712 from your Telkom landline, or 0839010212 from your cellphone, or vote for Lloyd on MXit

Stacey Norman of 94.5 KFM chose the hit “Stereo Love”, by Edward Maya, for Cape Town’s Adeline Mocke, who started the song standing on top of the judges’ table in cheeky short denim shorts! Amazingly, despite that, Gareth said he didn’t enjoy the performance. “It was a bit too coarse,” he complained. “It was OK,” Mara equivocated. Bongani disagreed: “I loooooved the intro!” he exclaimed. “I should come here every week!” But on a serious note he thought Adeline could have done much better in terms of the performance. “Not your best week,” Randall agreed, “but at least they chose a modern song for you, which you’re good at.” He thought all the other DJ’s Choice songs would have done well on a “grandparents’ channel”!

The driving song that Adeline chose was Lady Antebellum’s “I Need You Now”. Gareth thought it was a “very, very good song choice”. He said it was good that the contestants now sang two songs each so that the judges can contrast – he didn’t like Adeline’s first performance, “but this one was great!” Mara had nothing to say about Adeline’s performance, but she was in favour of her dress…
Bongani advised Adeline to try and make the song a little more “hers”, and Randall said the song choice was the good news, but the bad news was that Adeline’s performance was only “fair”. He urged her to get back to how “brilliant” she was doing Prince’s “Purple Rain” a couple of week earlier.
To vote for Adeline, SMS 13 to 37400, or call 0862277713 from your Telkom landline, or 0839010213 from your cellphone, or vote for Adeline on MXit.

For Boki Ntsime, 94.7 Highveld Stereo’s Bongani Nxumalo chose the R. Kelly hit, “World’s Greatest”. Gareth said “no disrespect to Pieter, Elvis and Lloyd”, but Boki was “young and funky in a way they could never be…” A tearful Mara said that Boli made her so proud, but Bongani was less impressed – he cautioned Boki not to get too carried away and to really focus on singing “each of the notes”. Randall thought this was not the best song choice for Boki “because you’re a pop singer and that’s a song for a Soul Man”.

When it comes to driving music, Boki likes the classics – he selected Toto’s iconic hit, “Rosanna”. “Very appealing, well done,” said Gareth. Mara was moved once more that Boki "...could sing that song and make it his own”. Bongani cautioned Boki not to hold back on the high notes and Randall had similar advice – he said Boki should be careful about not waiting until the chorus to take it away. “You have to sing the song from the beginning,” he repeated. “You can’t expect the song to do the work for you…”
To vote for Boki, SMS 06 to 37400, or call 0862277706 from your Telkom landline, or 0839010206 from your cellphone, or vote for Boki on MXit.

In Bloemfontein, his homeboy at OFM Stereo, Andre Kunz, selected “Rockstar” by Nickleback for Pieter West, perhaps hoping that it would prove to be prophetic! “You’ve found a song where I like you!” Gareth marvelled. Mara was happy that Pieter had done something a little different, but she said she still wanted to see even more diversity from him. Bongani thought that Pieter had found the type of song that defines him, but Randall’s only cryptic comment was that “the song plodded along and the performance came to a grinding halt…”

When he drives, Pieter West apparently likes to headbang and pound the steering wheel to the beat of the AC/DC classic, “You Shook Me All Night Long”! Gareth said that was one of his all-time favourite songs from one of his favourite bands and Pieter’s version had “something really special missing…” Mara thought that Pieter had deteriorated since they first chose him in Bloemfontein. But Bongani apparently liked it. “If you’re not still here next week me and the rest of the audience are going to toyi toyi,” he vowed. Randall urged Pieter to turn the metaphorical amp up to 11… “You have nothing to lose,” he reminded him, “go for it!”
To vote for Pieter, SMS 05 to 37400, or call 0862277705 from your Telkom landline, or 0839010205 from your cellphone, or vote for Pieter on MXit.

Voting opened at the started on sunday and will close at 22h00 Monday evening.

The Sama Award-winning South African supergroup Malaika is performing at the Top 6 Results Show this Tuesday evening [5 October]. Free tickets are available at the door at the Mosaïek Teatro in Fairlands, Johannesburg.

For more information on the Top 6 or to book any of the Idols for events, visit www.mnet.co.za/idols . And follow the show on Twitter (@idolssa) and join the Facebook group (Idols VI) for more exclusive Idols content!