Idols South Africa favourite contestant Mmatema Moremi will not go back to her old life regardless of the competition outcome.
Before entering Idols, Mmatema was a part-time translator at a court in Pretoria, a life she believes was never meant for her and the love she received in a competition, according to her is a sign that the life was indeed not for her.
"Growing up I had a dream and my dream didn't involve sitting behind a desk and answering phone calls, it involved going on stage and singing, performing."
"I believe that Idols really set up that platform for me, so going forward I don't think I'll go back (to her old life)."
So far she has been one of the few idols who have consistently received compliments from all four judges.
One compliment that has stood out for her since the beginning of the competition was from the hard-notch judge Randall Abrahams after performing her rendition of Tina Turner's song in which he said 'It's not over until Mmatema sings'.
"Getting a compliment from Randal (Abrahams) puts you up there and I knew already that people expect me to go beyond that and again," she said.
Being the favourite in the competition means more pressure for the 23 year-old but the pressure she faces is not only on stage but also off stage as she has been primed as the first possible black female idol in the history of the competition.
"Like I said, there's so much pressure I think what started the whole thing was the 'Skyscrapper' song so I have to live up to being a 'skyscrapper'.
"I really need to be consistent and who knows maybe I might be the female winner," she said.
She believes that the performance she gave in the previous week was not her best because she was affected by a social media post she saw moments before going on stage to perform Demi Lovato's 'Warrior'.
"Before I went on stage I read a comment on Facebook, which was the worst thing that I could ever do, that affected me - people were saying 'I hope she doesn't go dramatic' and in my head I'm thinking 'I am gonna go dramatic' - so I wasn't there and I couldn't tell the judges that I was affected by the comment," she said.
Although still in the competition, Mmatema is eagerly looking forward to seeing what the future holds for her.
"I am quite happy, I am enjoying what I am receiving already. I mean the attention is amazing, the love we have is amazing, the support we get is amazing so I'm enjoying it and I like what I'm seeing so far and I like what I see in the future."
Mmatema believes that although her fellow contestants are her friends, they all still give her nightmares.
"They all give me nightmares, I mean, did you see the show? Everyone got positive comments so there's no one I can say is an underdog now. Everyone is just putting on their A-game now. You have to beat all of them to be on that number one spot so you won't sleep because everyone is just practicing, singing and pushing. So everyone is giving me nightmares."
It's not over until Mmatema sings
Idols South Africa favourite contestant Mmatema Moremi will not go back to her old life regardless of the competition outcome.
Before entering Idols, Mmatema was a part-time translator at a court in Pretoria, a life she believes was never meant for her and the love she received in a competition, according to her is a sign that the life was indeed not for her.
"Growing up I had a dream and my dream didn't involve sitting behind a desk and answering phone calls, it involved going on stage and singing, performing."
"I believe that Idols really set up that platform for me, so going forward I don't think I'll go back (to her old life)."
So far she has been one of the few idols who have consistently received compliments from all four judges.
One compliment that has stood out for her since the beginning of the competition was from the hard-notch judge Randall Abrahams after performing her rendition of Tina Turner's song in which he said 'It's not over until Mmatema sings'.
"Getting a compliment from Randal (Abrahams) puts you up there and I knew already that people expect me to go beyond that and again," she said.
Being the favourite in the competition means more pressure for the 23 year-old but the pressure she faces is not only on stage but also off stage as she has been primed as the first possible black female idol in the history of the competition.
"Like I said, there's so much pressure I think what started the whole thing was the 'Skyscrapper' song so I have to live up to being a 'skyscrapper'.
"I really need to be consistent and who knows maybe I might be the female winner," she said.
She believes that the performance she gave in the previous week was not her best because she was affected by a social media post she saw moments before going on stage to perform Demi Lovato's 'Warrior'.
"Before I went on stage I read a comment on Facebook, which was the worst thing that I could ever do, that affected me - people were saying 'I hope she doesn't go dramatic' and in my head I'm thinking 'I am gonna go dramatic' - so I wasn't there and I couldn't tell the judges that I was affected by the comment," she said.
Although still in the competition, Mmatema is eagerly looking forward to seeing what the future holds for her.
"I am quite happy, I am enjoying what I am receiving already. I mean the attention is amazing, the love we have is amazing, the support we get is amazing so I'm enjoying it and I like what I'm seeing so far and I like what I see in the future."
Mmatema believes that although her fellow contestants are her friends, they all still give her nightmares.
"They all give me nightmares, I mean, did you see the show? Everyone got positive comments so there's no one I can say is an underdog now. Everyone is just putting on their A-game now. You have to beat all of them to be on that number one spot so you won't sleep because everyone is just practicing, singing and pushing. So everyone is giving me nightmares."