The first episode of the 7th season of Idols on M-Net (Sundays, 17:30) also gave us our winner: Novangeli Luhlabo (20) from Khayelitsha, otherwise known as Ruth.
Is Ruth whose dad died and is living with her mother and four brothers in an impoverished neighbourhood in Cape Town the Amber Riley of South Africa? Ruth sings phenomenally well, has an incredible likeness to Amber Riley from Glee and has a fantastically strong voice. She has a tragic backstory perfect for Idols' rags-to-stardom with viewers who will definitely want her to succeed, and she definitely has the talent and the beautiful voice to win this competition.
My money would be on Ruth to win Idols and in my estimation she's the early frontrunner in the new 7th season to win the reality competition. ''I can't believe you've never stood on a stage before and sang with that voice. I find it incredibly hard to believe,'' remarked an amazed Danny K who was the guest judge in the first episode after Ruth, who travelled all the way from Litha Park to take a chance in life, sang.
Other Cape Town contestants besides Ruth under the 24 Idols contestants who've made it through to the next theatre round in Sun City that viewers will see again in July include Noluthando Meje; Emil Stirwig (22) from Bellville, the ''fabulous'' Ithumeleng Mncayi (20) from Ysterplaat; Cameron Gaffrey (19) from Edgemead; Mark Hanekom (29) from Durbanville; Kelly Fortuin (21) from Bellville; Nohelwa Ntueni (17) from Milnerton and Chloe Geldenhuys from Protea Valley.
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