# Idols South Africa season 14

The fourteenth season of South African Idols premiered on July 8, 2018, on the Mzansi Magic television network. ProVerb continued his role as the show's host and an executive producer while Somizi Mhlongo, Unathi Nkayi and Randall Abrahams also remained as the main judges, with guest judges at each audition city.

## Auditions

Auditions began in January and ended in March.
Audition dates and venues :
| City | Venue | Guest Judge | Date |
| Durban | North Beach Amphitheatre | | 20 January 2018 |
| Cape Town | Century City Conference Centre | DJ Cleo | 27 January 2018 |
| Pretoria | The State Theatre | | 10 February 2018 |
| Johannesburg | Carnival City | | 24 February 2018 |
Pop-up audition dates and venues :
| City | Venue | Date |
| Bloemfontein | Mimosa Mall | 3 February 2018 |
| Port Elizabeth | Boardwalk Casino & Hotel | 17 February 2018 |
| Polokwane | Savannah Mall | 3 March 2018 |

## Finalists

| Contestant | Age | Hometown | Place finished |
| Yanga Sobetwa | 16 | Delft, Cape Town | Winner |
| Thato Makape | 23 | Postmasburg, Northern Cape | Runner-up |
| Thando Mngomezulu | 19 | Alberton, Gauteng | 3rd |
| Basimane Melato (King B) | 20 | Kagiso | 4th |
| Niyaaz Arendse | 22 | Cape Town | 5th |
| Nosipho Silinda | 17 | Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal | 6th |
| Zamagambu Memela (Xae) | 19 | Pinetown, Durban | 7th |
| Lincoln Lewis | 22 | Ravensmead, Cape Flats | 8th |
| Ntokozo Makhathini | 18 | Witbank, Emalahleni | 9th |
| Mthokozisi Ngcobo | 20 | Umlazi, Durban | 10th |
| Bongiwe Mdaka | 23 | Melelani, Mpumalanga | 11th/13th |
| Dalene Swartz | 21 | Eldorado Park, Johannesburg | 11th/13th |
| Lethabo Ramatsui (Wattahmelon) | 18 | Atteridgeville, Pretoria | 11th/13th |
| Mnqobi Dlamini | 21 | Piet Retief | 14th/16th |
| Sandile Skosana | 26 | Tsakane, Ekurhuleni | 14th/16th |
| Victor Matalane | 25 | Riba Cross, Limpopo | 14th/16th |

## Weekly Song Choice and Result
### Top 16
#### Boys (2 September)

| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Victor Matalane | 1 | "Nguwe" by Vusi Nova | Eliminated |
| Mthokozisi Ngcobo | 2 | "So Amazing" by Luther Vandross | Safe |
| Mnqobi Dlamini | 3 | "Hold On, We're Going Home" by Drake | Eliminated |
| Sandile Skosana | 4 | "Nomvula" by Nathi | Eliminated |
| Lincoln Lewis | 5 | "Writing's On The Wall" by Sam Smith | Safe |
| Thato Makape | 6 | "With You" by Chris Brown | Safe |
| King B | 7 | "Stay With Me" by Sam Smith | Safe |
| Niyaaz Arendse | 8 | "Mirrors" by Justin Timberlake | Wild Card |

#### Girls (9 September)

| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Thando Mngomezulu | 1 | "Giving Myself" by Jennifer Hudson | Wild Card |
| Bongiwe Mdaka | 2 | "Beneath Your Beautiful" by Emeli Sandé | Eliminated |
| Wattahmelon | 3 | "Lose to Win" by Fantasia | Eliminated |
| Nosipho Silinda | 4 | "Alive" by Sia | Safe |
| Xae | 5 | "Broken Clocks" by SZA | Safe |
| Yanga Sobetwa | 6 | "Don't You Remember" by Adele | Safe |
| Ntokozo Makhathini | 7 | "Ndiza" by Zahara | Safe |
| Dalene Swartz | 8 | "It's Not Right, But It's Okay by Whitney Houston | Eliminated |

### Top 10 (16 September)

| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Nosipho Silinda | 1 | "Collide" by Lady Zamar | Safe |
| Mthokozisi Ngcobo | 2 | "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)" by Maxwell | Eliminated |
| Lincoln Lewis | 3 | "Sondela" by Ringo Madlingozi | Safe |
| Xae | 4 | "Please Mr" by Shekhinah | Safe |
| Niyaaz Arendse | 5 | "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran | Safe |
| Ntokozo Makhathini | 6 | "Fill Me Up" by Tasha Cobbs | Safe |
| Thato Makape | 7 | "I Got You" by Encore | Safe |
| Thando Mngomezulu | 8 | "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin | Safe |
| King B | 9 | "Love On The Brain" by Rihanna | Safe |
| Yanga Sobetwa | 10 | "Amazulu" by Amanda Black | Safe |

### Top 9: The 90s (23 September)

| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Lincoln Lewis | 1 | "Pony" by Ginuwine | Safe |
| Xae | 2 | "That's The Way Love Goes" by Janet Jackson | Safe |
| Niyaaz Arendse | 3 | "Forever" by Damage | Safe |
| Yanga Sobetwa | 4 | "Before You Walk Out My Life" by Monica Brown | Safe |
| Thato Makape | 5 | "If I Ever Fall In Love" by Shai | Safe |
| Thando Mngomezulu | 6 | "Bills, Bills, Bills" by Destiny's Child | Safe |
| Nosipho Silinda | 7 | "Open Arms" by Tina Turner | Safe |
| Ntokozo Makhathini | 8 | "He Wasn't Man Enough" by Toni Braxton | Eliminated |
| King B | 9 | "Remember The Time" by Michael Jackson | Safe |

### Top 8 - Orchestral Delight (30 September)

| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Niyaaz Arendse | 1 | "Take Me To Church" by Hozier | Safe |
| Xae | 2 | "Cranes In The Sky" by Solange Knowles | Safe |
| King B | 3 | "Loliwe" by Zahara | Safe |
| Nosipho Silinda | 4 | "Hurt" by Christina Aguilera | Safe |
| Lincoln Lewis | 5 | "Elastic Heart" by Sia | Eliminated |
| Yanga Sobetwa | 6 | "Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart" by Alicia Keys | Safe |
| Thato Makape | 7 | "Treat You Better" by Shawn Mendes | Safe |
| Thando Mngomezulu | 8 | "As Long As You Love Me" by Justin Bieber | Safe |

### Top 7: Showstopper (7 October)

| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Thato Makape | 1 | "Mamelani" by Naakmusiq | Safe |
| Nosipho Silinda | 2 | "Into You" by Ariana Grande | Safe |
| Niyaaz Arendse | 3 | "Turn Up The Music" by Chris Brown | Safe |
| Yanga Sobetwa | 4 | "Not Yet Uhuru" by Letta Mbulu | Safe |
| Xae | 5 | "One Thing" by Amerie | Eliminated |
| King B | 6 | "Inde" by Heavy K & Busiswa | Safe |
| Thando Mngomezulu | 7 | "Single Ladies" by Beyoncé | Safe |

### Top 6: Celebration of South African Music (14 October)

| Act | Order | Celebration of SA Music | Order | Love Songs | Result |
| Thato Makape | 1 | "Tell Me" by Stimela & Ray Phiri | 7 | "U Got It Bad" by Usher | Safe |
| Nosipho Silinda | 2 | "Destiny" by Zahara | 8 | "Halo" by Beyonce | Eliminated |
| Niyaaz Arendse | 3 | "Jika" by Mi Casa | 9 | "Crazy Love" by Brian McKnight | Safe |
| Thando Mngomezulu | 4 | "Nizalwa Ngobani" by Thandiswa Mazwai | 10 | "I Believe In You & Me" by Whitney Houston | Safe |
| King B | 5 | "Baby Please" by Kelly Khumalo | 11 | "Make You Feel My Love" by Adele | Safe |
| Yanga Sobetwa | 6 | "Xa Bendino Mama" by Zahara | 12 | "If This Isn't Love" by Jennifer Hudson | Safe |

### Top 5 (21 October)

| Act | Order | Song | Order | Song | Result |
| Thando Mngomezulu | 1 | "Spotlight" by Jennifer Hudson | 6 | "The Weakness In Me"" by Keisha White | Safe |
| Niyaaz Arendse | 2 | "Too Good At Goodbyes" by Sam Smith | 7 | "Lost Without U" by Robin Thicke | Eliminated |
| King B | 3 | "Irreplaceable" by Beyoncé | 8 | "Say Something" by Laura D | Safe |
| Yanga Sobetwa | 4 | "What Is Love" by V. Bozeman | 9 | "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston | Safe |
| Thato Makape | 5 | "Imibuzo" by Nathi | 10 | "Inkomo" by The Soil | Safe |

### Top 4 (28 October)

| Act | Order | Song - Soweto Gospel Choir | Order | Song | Result |
| Thato Makape | 1 | "Many Rivers to Cross" by Soweto Gospel Choir | 6 | "If" by Davido | Safe |
| Thando Mngomezulu | 2 | "Ka Na Le Modisa" by Soweto Gospel Choir | 7 | "Thando" by Naima Kay | Safe |
| Yanga Sobetwa | 3 | "Avulekile Amasango/One Love" by Soweto Gospel Choir | 8 | "Impilo" by Sjava | Safe |
| King B | 1 | "Lion of Judah" by Soweto Gospel Choir | 5 | "Kahle" by Amanda Black | Eliminated |

### Top 3: Semi-Final (4 November)

| Act | Order | Duet | Order | Song | Result |
| Yanga Sobetwa | 1 | "Beauty and the Beast" by Ariana Grande & John Legend (with Khaya Mthethwa) | 4 | "Mkulumsebenzi" by Khaya Mthethwa | Safe |
| Thando Mngomezulu | 2 | "The Closer I Get To You" by Beyoncé & Luther Vandross (with Karabo Mogane) | 5 | "Never Say Never" by Justin Bieber | Eliminated |
| Thato Makape | 3 | "Ngamthanda Umuntu" by Linda (with Amanda Black) | 6 | "Thandiwe" by Vusi Nova | Safe |
* Before the Top 3 were announced, King B also got to duet with Mmatema Moremi they performed Smother by Craig Lucas & Paxton

### Top 2: Final (11 November)

| Act | Order | Idols Produced Single | Order | Favourite Previous Performance | Order | Best Performance | Result |
| Yanga Sobetwa | 1 | "Scars (All Over Me)" by Yanga | 3 | "Heaven" by Emeli Sandé | 5 | "Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart" by Alicia Keys | Winner |
| Thato Makape | 2 | "Blow by Blow" by Thato | 4 | "I'm Not the Only One" by Sam Smith | 3 | "If" by Davido | Runner-up |
* Before her elimination Thando performed her debut single "Wasting Time".

## Elimination Chart
### Colour key

| – | Winner |
| – | Runner-up |
| – | Wild Card |
| – | Eliminated |
Weekly results per act :
| Act | Top 16 | Top 16 | Top 10 | Top 9 | Top 8 | Top 7 | Top 6 | Top 5 | Top 4 | Top 3 | Top 2 |
| Act | Boys | Girls | Top 10 | Top 9 | Top 8 | Top 7 | Top 6 | Top 5 | Top 4 | Top 3 | Top 2 |
| Yanga Sobetwa | — | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Winner |
| Thato Makape | Safe | — | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Runner-up |
| Thando Mngomezulu | — | Wild Card | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | 3rd place | Eliminated |
| King B | Safe | — | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | 4th place | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Niyaaz Arendse | Wild Card | — | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | 5th place | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Nosipho Silinda | — | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | 6th place | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Xae | — | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | 7th place | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Lincoln Lewis | Safe | — | Safe | Safe | 8th place | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Ntokozo Makhathini | — | Safe | Safe | 9th place | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Mthokozisi Ngcobo | Safe | — | 10th place | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Bongiwe Mdaka | — | 11th-16th place | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Dalene Swartz | — | 11th-16th place | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Wattahmelon | — | 11th-16th place | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Mnqobi Dlamini | 11th-16th place | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Sandile Skosana | 11th-16th place | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Victor Matalane | 11th-16th place | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |