Crushanda wows Idols

SINGING with the emotive force of a seasoned balladeer, Crushanda Forbes made a dramatic return to the Idols competition with a fine rendition of Garth Taylor's classic song, "Why"

This stunned Idols judges, with Gareth Cliff remarking: "I am glad you're back".

Crushanda, who hails from Kimberley, set the tone for the evening after languishing among the bottom three contestants last week.

"You've got to pace yourself and you're going to have to do those really big performances again to survive," Randall told her after her previous performance.

"I had to choose a song that was appealing to the audience," a disappointed Crushanda said after the show.

Also making a strong comeback was Lefa Pike, also from Kimberley, who was among the bottom two last week. He performed Brenda Fassie's blockbuster classic It's too late for Mama.

He got rave reviews from the judges and the crowd responded with a thunderous applause.

Cliff said: "You did well and gave the song a soul."

"This is where you belong," Randall Abrahams agreed.

The star of the evening was Kelly Fortuin singing I'd Like by Freshlyground.

She improves with every performance and is definitely the one to watch in this competition.

Phasksy Mngomezulu's rendition of Loyiso's I Want You and Erin Fourie performing Saran Gas' Fine Again both received lukewarm responses from the judges and audience.

Song choice has proven to be critical in this competition.

The downfall of contestants is that they tend to choose songs outside their range, which proves to be their undoing.

Tomorrow evening the Idols wannabe who receives the fewest votes will be sent home during the live broadcast.