Talent singer Succedor was next in the Top 10 line to bite the dust on Sunday night, leaving only 9 contestants still in the running to be crowned the next South African Idol.
With the theme of “Lockdown Hits”, the singers took to the stage to give their best – hoping to be kept in the next week.
If you missed out on the fun, here's a recap of what went down.
First to grace the “Idols SA” stage all the way from Pretoria's State Theatre, Jooma sang former “Idols SA” contestant Loyiso Gijana’s hit song “Madoda Sabelani”.
Randall Abrahams commended his vocal abilities, saying that he had so far proven to be a great singer and this was an uplifting song choice. However, he said, Jooma should consider "changing it up so people can see something slightly different in the future".
Unathi Nkanyi echoed Randall, adding that the science of the Top 10 was what was important at this stage.
Having had said that, Unathi expressed how touched she was with the message of the song.
Somizi Mhlongo-Motaung gave him the thumbs up, saying:" I think this performance is safe enough to take you to Jooma-land in the top something next week."
Bongi was next, performing “Stand Up” by Cynthia Erivo. Unathi was impressed, saying she gave a beautiful performance, dynamic and powerful.
Somizi agreed, saying that although he didn't know the song, it grew on him, which said a lot about the powerful vocalist Bongi is. "Beyond this competition, you have a career," he said.
Zanothando took on Blaq Diamond's “Price to Pay”, shocking Randall – but for the wrong reasons.
"I was so underwhelmed because you are so OTT but you weren't OTT on stage … This was the perfect opportunity to absolutely blow it up and go for it," he said.
Unathi commended his song choice, but asked that he stop being scared and instead try to show more vulnerability. Somizi commented that the sing fitted him perfectly.
BE took on Ella Mai's “Boo'd Up”, and while Randall thought it was a great song choice and an equally good performance, Somizi asked what happened to the BE he met at the auditions, saying something was missing and he was still looking for the vocalist who caught his heart.
Unathi admits that she plays the song daily on her show and really enjoyed the performance.
Ntokozo's take on Kelly Khumalo's “Happiness” got her mixed reviews.
Unathi felt she might have misread the emotions of the song and wanted her to be cognisant of what she says and what she means. However, she did think Ntokozo's performance was incredible.
Somizi said: "In her defence, for me understanding the singer that sings the song, she comes from a place of frustration and anger that she (Kelly) is too happy to care. For me, Ntokozo got the brief," he said.
Randall said this was Ntokozo's real performance because she was absolutely committed to it.
Brandon sang Justin Bieber's “Sorry” and although Somizi and Randall both agreed that vocally he was on point, they were both let down by how restrained he was, given the amount of space he had on stage.
"You wasted space. It's a cool, young song. Be young, be free. You are in the top 10, you made it, you deserve to be in the top 9. Brandon you have arrived, stop performing like you are still in theatre week, or are scared or you've just gotten a golden ticket or you'll win a wooden mic. Perform," said Somizi.
Randall told him to own the stage.
Unathi, however, defended him, saying his performance was brilliant and flawless.
Ndoni's performance of Amanda Black’s “Ndizele Wena” received raving reviews all round with Unathi saying if she ever got married again, Ndoni must come to the wedding and sing the song exactly the way she had just performed it. "You were perfection in my eyes," she said.
Randall felt the performance was good, even memorable, but advised her to work harder on mic technique.
Somizi described her singing as whimsical and ethereal.
Zama was another to get great reviews from all three judges with her rendition of Doja Cat's “Say So”. Somizi liked the perforamce so much he said he would buy her album when she released one, while Randall said she was a versatile performer, able to pull off different genres.
Last to perform was Mr Music with “Into Ingawe” by Ami Faku and Sun-El Musician which got Somizi dancing.
He praised the singer for being entertaining.
"You engaged with the audience, you are enjoying yourself and there is something distinctive about your voice." Randall complimented his personality and fun performance and Unathi said this song was written for him because, "into ingawe".
Next week, another contestant will have to bow out, bringing us closer to the winner.