Loyiso’s shock Idols exit

Idols SA viewers were shocked when Loyiso Gijana didn’t make it into the competition’s top four on Sunday, but the 16-year-old singer says he saw it coming.

Gijana performed Zahara’s Ndiza and Bob Marley’s One Love and didn’t get enough public votes to stay in the competition.

“I wasn’t very happy with my performances last week so I had a feeling I would go home,” he says.

Gijana was a favourite with the public right from the start and it seemed the youngster could do no wrong in the eyes of the judges.

“Keep doing what you are doing and you’ll be in the top two,” Gareth Cliff said after his performance a few weeks ago. “Your artistic intelligence is beyond me,” Somizi Mhlongo gushed.

Gijana honed his music skills as a member of the Uitenhage Muir College choir. When he turned 16 in March, his parents convinced him to audition for Idols SA.

“My parents have always made me feel confident in myself. They’ve always believed in my talent and want to see me take it far.” Despite his talent and popularity on the show, Gijana says Idols SA was a big challenge for him. “I was very intimidated by the other contestants when I came into the competition. I knew I could sing, but I didn’t have as much confidence as the others.

“But I’ve learnt a lot about music during my time on the show. I thought I knew what music was before, but after being on Idols I feel like I didn’t know anything at all,” he says with a laugh.

“This is not the end for me,” he says adamantly. “I’m going to be doing some writing and I hope to get into the studio and record a single very soon.”

On who he hopes will win the competition, he says: “I support all the remaining contestants, but it would be great if Karabo [Mogane] won.

“He was the closest person to me on the show and he also played a big part in teaching me a lot about music.”