Karabo walked into the audition room earlier this year, a timid looking girl who confessed that she had in fact auditioned for the show before when she was younger but didn’t get enough yeses to ascend into the next round. Guesses as to who said no to her?... Mr. A! So upon her return, she shared that her nerves and her fear of gentle giant Mr. A is what contributed to her first shaky audition when she was 16. Now all grown up, she was determined to put all of that behind her and flaunt her new found powerful voice and confidence and it paid off! Watch Karabo’s 2nd Idols SA audition, singing CiCi’s ‘Ngidinge’:
The timid girl narrative went straight out the window during her Theatre Week Group Performance! The three ladies performed Destiny’s Child ‘Independent Women’ and the sass quickly took over Karabo’s body getting her another yes to go into the next round of performances, the solo round!
In this solo round, it’s very clear to see and hear Karabo’s determination to continue her Idols SA journey. The performance is poised, polished but she doesn’t forget to deliver a performance; it’s filled with sorrow and loaded with emotion, which is something a younger Karabo would’ve been too young to understand perhaps. Watch her Theatre Week Solo Performance of Ami Faku’s ‘Lala Ngoxolo’:
On the Final Judgement Day, the day when all the contestants find out if they are in the Top 16, the man she once feared was the same man that was tasked to give her fate, see how that unfolded in the video below:
Once she was in the Top 16, Karabo hit the ground running and never looked back! She started strong with Andra Day’s ‘Stand Up For Something’, a powerful song that forces one to take note of whoever’s singing it and South Africa took note of Karabo!
At every chance she gets, she always takes any chance to credit her God for everything in her life! Making it into Top 9 is a great feat and in Karabo style, she performed DJ Cleo’s ‘Gcina Impilo Yami’ alongside the great himself!
At this point, Karabo has been dubbed as someone that has the makings of being a music diva and she tackles another big song in the Top 8 stage, Fantasia’s ‘When I See You’. She ate that performance and left no crumbs, so much so that Randall Abrahams said that she turned what isn’t the greatest of songs into the best performance!
And then there were better days before Karabo when she was announced into the Top 7 circle and she glided through Joy’s ‘Paradise Road’ making everything feel like it was going to be okay around us. Karabo has a gift to transfer emotion through her voice and you’ll understand why we say this when you watch this performance:
And all any great singer wants is the respect they’re owed and at this Showstopper point, she’d worked hard enough for her to get it! If you thought sweet Karabo couldn’t get feisty, think again! Give the diva her respect as you watch her perform Aretha Franklin’s ‘Respect’!
Her showstopper performance gained her respect and votes from Mzansi’s people, getting her into the Top 6. They were tasked to perform two songs that night and she understood the assignment singing Mafikizolo’s ‘Ngeke Balunge’; which earned her quite an esteemed compliment from guest judge, ‘The Big O’ Oskido!...
… Her 2nd and last performance of the night was perfectly and delicately delivered. She stepped out of her comfort zone and sang Pink’s pop rock hit ‘Perfect’ and gave it a Karabo diva flavour… The growth!
Top 5 time and sis didn’t come to play! She performed Amanda Black’s ‘Thandwa Ndim’ and there was no dry eye in anyone’s living room. An artist’s ability to be vulnerable when writing and singing their own song is a great one, so can you imagine when an artist is able to convey that vulnerability while singing another artist’s song? That’s Karabo for you…
… 2nd performance of the night, she and the Mzansi Gay Choir injected some energy into our veins with Tina Turner’s ‘River Deep Mountain High’, and that’s on versatility!
Karabo’s other gift is song selection, she knows herself and her voice and chooses songs from artists she can see herself in. In the Top 4 Reveal show, she tackles the challenging and powerful song by fellow diva, Jennifer Hudson, ‘And I Am Telling You’, and she told us! She said she’s not going and Mzansi made sure she didn’t go anywhere but to the very top!
And then she brought it back home by singing the late great Brenda Fassie’s ‘My Black President’ as her last performance of the night:
They say three’s a charm and she was a golden charm on that stage as she took her place in the Top 3 singing Beverley Knight’s ‘Gold’...
Watch her Top 3 performance of Nomfundo Moh’s ‘Phakade lami’, a sincere delivery of a sincere song!
If you ever felt like it was too late or too early or you were too old or too young or too anything to try and try again, Karabo should really be your go to inspiration when those thoughts creep in! Who would’ve thought that a young girl who once auditioned and was sorely disappointed would come back and not only get into the show she dreamed of making years back, BUT actually make it right to the absolute end?! It takes hard work and dedication, yes, but it also takes a whole lot of belief in self and, in Karabo’s case - a whole lot of belief in God too! Watch her performance with Lebo Sekgobela ‘Hallelujah Mdumiseni’:
Her single which she recorded with Kalawa Jazmee is titled ‘Hosanna’ and what a beautiful dedication and thank you to Him, stream and download here: https://KalawaJazzmee.lnk.tt/Hosanna. Watch Hosanna and the rest of her performances that take you right to the end of her journey on Idols SA, and remember this young talent! Because one thing we know about her, she will keep coming back!
Season 18 of Idols SA online audition details will be announced soon! Keep abreast on all updates and content right here on our website. Keep following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram #IdolsSA.