THE VOICE SA SECOND EPISODE WRAP
In tonight’s first episode of Blind
Auditions, two phenomenal singers sparked fireworks on the set of The Voice
South Africa Season 2. Both Freddy Lalendle (23) and Marissa Petzer (22)
sang so well that all four of the coaches turned their iconic red chairs for
them, just like they did with last season’s winner Richard Stirton when he
first stepped onto The Voice SA’s stage.
During this phase of the competition the
coaches assemble a group of twelve singers for their teams based on vocal
ability only. With their backs turned to the talent, they show their interest
by pressing the buzzer that spins their chair into action. When one coach
turns around it’s a done deal, but when more than one chair swivels 180
degrees, it’s fun and games as the power to choose shifts to the talent.
After hearing out the desperate pleas from
coaches Kahn Morbee, Karen Zoid, Lira and Bobby van Jaarsveld, who all want to
be this season’s winning coach, the funky Freddy decided to follow in Richard’s
footsteps by picking Kahn. Spunky rocker Marissa, however, took her cue from
her boyfriend who happens to be last season’s Top 4 finalist Almur Marais, also
fondly known by The Voice SA fans as “Stilfontein”. Marisa kept it
in the family with #Team Karen, hoping that SA’s number one rock chick would be
able to boost her music career too.
Freddy surprised the coaches with his
rendition of Vance Joy’s “Riptide”. His raspy voice and unique tone conjured up
images of a Tom Waits-like figure in the their minds. Instead, they found a
cool young guy who cannot be boxed into any category. The coaches showered him
with compliments and Karen’s rave included the praise that “South Africa needs
something new … and that’s you.” Freddy lives with his wife Celene in
Durban, where he also runs a band called “The Subway Run”.
The coaches were also a little shocked
when they saw Marissa. Not because they realised that it was Almur’s
girlfriend, but because they couldn’t believe that the brave singer who
masterfully belted out Led Zepplin’s “A Whole Lot Of Love” was the same person
who was unable to get a single coach to turn their chair last season. Clearly
Almur’s success took Marissa to a whole new level – or was it perhaps
the water in Stilfontein, as coach Bobby suggested?
Even though coaches Karen and Kahn
snatched the two talent who received four turns each, coach Lira scored the
most singers this week. At the end of the first episode, #TeamLira had three
members, #TeamKahn two and #TeamBobby and #TeamKaren one each.
Songstress Lira was over the moon when the
appropriately named “Bubbles” Mnomiya chose her above Kahn and
Bobby. The 23-year-old entertainer from Richard’s Bay, whose
personality coach Kahn described as “effervescent”, opened the show with an
energetic performance of the
Cee-Lo Green classic “Forget You.” The other two #TeamLira members are Aston
Wylie (24) and Luke Lovemore (23). Aston grew up in picturesque
Gonubie near East London and is now a full-time performer and private music
teacher in Belville. He grabbed Lira with Ellie Goulding’s smash hit “Love Me Like You Do”. The
newly-wed Luke studied Environmental Management through Unisa while
working and performing in Cape Town’s famous Stardust theatrical restaurant,
where he met one of his best friends and Season 1 winner, Richard Stirton! Luke
won himself a spot on #TeamLira with the Seal anthem “Crazy”, after both Lira
and fellow songstress Karen Zoid wanted to take him to the next round.
The one and only member in #TeamBobby to
date is 18-year-old Rick Jansen from Centurion, the handsome young singer whose
career started with a near-tragic injury. At school, Richard
excelled in all kinds of sports – from water polo and athletics to kickboxing
and rugby. Then, in Grade 11 he broke his neck in three places during a rugby
match, which pretty much ended
all sport activities for him. Rick, who says he is grateful to still be able to
walk today, battled the boredom of not being able to compete in the sports
arena with the guitar that his grandmother bought him. The young
Rick chose Calvin Harris’ “This is What You Came For” as his Blind
Audition song and the crowd – and Bobby – loved it.
Freddy’s team mate in #TeamKahn is 23-year-old
Kirby Jo from Cape Town, who is
currently studying Early Childhood Development at False Bay College and volunteering
at a crèche once a week as part of the course. Kirby has been gigging
all her life and had the audience on their feet when she performed Michael
Jackson’s very challenging “Man In The Mirror”. Kahn was mightily impressed
with the amazing quality of her voice and was clearly delighted that he turned
his chair around.
The
Voice SA Season 2 is broadcast on M-Net Channel 101 every Sunday at 17:30,
and is repeated every Monday at 18:00 on M-Net City. - release by MNET
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