IDOLS SHOCKER! Early ouster upset as both Ruth from Cape Town and Jean-Pierre Zeelie from Polokwane are suddenly sent packing.

Idols shocker! The first cut is the deepest as Idols on M-Net (Sundays, 17:30) unceremoniously dumped two excellent could-be-great stars in tonight's second episode of Theatre Week.

The wonderfully talented Novangeli Luhlabo (Ruth) from Cape Town and Jean-Pierre Zeelie (JP) from Polokwane suddenly found themselves in the group that got sent home in probably the most shocking ouster of the 7th season of Idols so far. Neither deserved to go.

ALSO READ: Novangeli Luhlabo known as Ruth is clearly the frontrunner to beat in the 7th season of Idols.
ALSO READ: The mechanic Jean-Pierre Zeelie is Polokwane's hope in the 7th season of Idols.

Poor Novangeli Luhlabo apparently didn't take it well. The wonderful girl who sang so beautifully and got heaped with praise in Cape Town by the Idols judges wasn't seen again against an Idols backdrop for a final word or wave - just a sad sideview while she stood in the room of contestants who got told they're going back home. Jean-Pierre Zeelie who has a great voice but came across as a bit shy in a previous episode was shown giving a brief sign-off in the form of a navy salute.

ALSO READ: Idols has a problem: dramatic, cataclysmic cantatas - and it's not coming from the contestants.

A NEW KIND OF AUTOTUNE. The shy mechanic Jean-Pierre Zeelie is now Polokwane's big new singing hope in M-Net's Idols.

Cobus Bodenstein/M-Net

There's already Mike & the Mechanics but can Jean-Pierre Zeelie (25) be the mechanic that has what it takes to make it in the 7th season of Idols on M-Net?

The somewhat shy guy Jean-Pierre Zeelie who work on cars made it through the Polokwane audition round of Idols to get a place in the Theatre round of the reality show. Going from knowing his way around tune ups on automobiles, he'll now have to be better than autotune to get a place in one of the top spots in the show. Jean-Pierre Zeelie will have to prove to the judges that he has what it takes, as well as the staying power, to earn a top spot.

Idols is currently in the nationwide audition process on M-Net on Sundays at 17:30 that will conclude with the Johannesburg episodes this Sunday on the pay broadcaster. ''I haven't entered Idols before because I'm a bit of a shy guy,'' says Jean-Pierre Zeelie. ''It's actually a big leap for me doing this but I think it's time.''

Jean-Pierre Zeelie and his brothers have a (no pun intended) garage band called Sweet November that's been playing together for the past three years. In the late eighties Jean-Pierre Zeelie's dad Neels Zeelie was a country musician and actually recorded two albums, From the Heart and Neels Zeelie Living Thru.

''I think I'm the next South African Idol because music runs in the family,'' says Jean-Pierre Zeelie. ''I've been waiting really long for this. I've been practising. It's time to get out of the cage, I believe. It will be cool to have someone from out of a small little dorpie being the next South African Idol.''