Patience Bambalele

Patience Bambalele

Five contestants are left after Thabisa Ntseoane bit the dust in the competition I Want to Sing Gospel, on SABC2.

As the list of contestants gets shorter, the competition becomes tough for the judges. The guest judges on Sunday were Steve Molakeng, Benjamin Dube, Lindelani Mkhize and Nosipho Daniels.

After narrowly escaping the chop last week, Ntseoane was finally eliminated after she failed to impress the judges. The promising singer was among the three contestants who received few public votes. She had to sing her heart out to avoid the axe.

Mkhize said: "That was a nice choice of song. You sang well. However, towards the end you were not singing, you were shouting."

In her exit interview Ntseoane said: "It's sad I've been eliminated. But I believe God has a purpose for me. I came here and today I understand a lot more about music."

Lungisani Ntuli, who has been the judges' favourite from the start, seems to be slipping. However, for the past three weeks judges have complained that Ntuli was too relaxed. On Sunday, Mkhize said Ntuli needed to work hard. While Siphumelele Mbambo again managed to avoid elimination, the singer from KwaZulu-Natal sang well on Saturday and Molakeng said she was too comfortable.

Kgotso Makgalema and Mzoxolo Rafani did well. Charisma Hanekom outdid herself on Sunday. Performing an Afrikaans song, she left the judges speechless.

Mkhize announced that viewers can vote in some of the contestants who were eliminated in the top 10.