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#TeamBobby is Booming!

News
24 March 2017
Coach Bobby van Jaarsveld has put together a team comprising some of the youngest performers in The Voice SA this season, showing that he is willing to back more inexperienced, up-and-coming hopefuls in their dream of becoming established singers.
Team Bobby

In the past seven weeks of Blind Auditions of the show, the Afrikaans pop singer managed to gain three singers whose auditions were so strong that all four of the coaches turned their red chairs for them, namely engineer Marco Basson (23); professional performer Josh Ansley (31) and Matric learner John James Janse van Rensburg (18).

Bobby also bagged an eclectic array of female vocalists for his team. There are the two powerhouse ladies of the team, Caroline Brussow (31), the wife of Springbok rugby player Heinrich Brussow and English teacher Jeanne-Mari Engelbrecht (29), as well as rock-n-roller Meggan Moore (25) from Langebaan and young Anchen Groenewald (19) from Rustenburg. Bobby’s full team tally stands at 12 singers who will be advancing into the Battle Rounds of the show, where each coach couples up the 12 members of their teams to sing against one another in pairs. The talent will have to step into the boxing ring-styled stage and literally Battle against each other vocally, singing the same song together. It is then up to their coach to determine which one of them will advance to the next round, and which one of them will end their Voice SA journey there and then.

The full house of #TeamBobby looks like this:

Alex Cavan (23) from Port Elizabeth has been singing ever since he took part in an open mic night at a local bar. The Friendly City native sang a stripped down version of the 90s R&B classic “No Diggity” by Blackstreet, for which Bobby pressed his buzzer. Fellow coach Kahn Morbee lamented not turning for Alex, but this suited Bobby just fine, as he told Alex “I’m honoured to have you on my team!” Watch Alex’s Blind Audition here.

Anchen Groenewald (19) is a pastor’s kid who spent most of her traveling and living across South Africa, but considers Rustenburg home these days. After matriculating in 2015, Anchen took a gap year to focus on music, but it looks like she may have to extend it because her rendition of Lukas Graham’s “7 Years” had Bobby turning and declaring to Anchen, “I’m on your team!” Watch Anchen’s Blind Audition here.

Caroline-Grace Brussow (31) is a qualified attorney who was born and bred in Bloemfontein, which is also where she met her husband, Springbok rugby player Heinrich Brussow. Caroline is the full package of brains and talent, as she proved in her Blind Audition when she belted out Celine Dion’s “Loved Me Back To Life”. Coach Bobby turned for Caroline and recognized her almost immediately, revealing to his fellow coaches and the audience that she is married to Heinrich – who was sitting in the audience to support her! Watch Caroline’s Blind Audition here.

Chad Jubber (19) used to live in Johannesburg, but moved back to his birthplace of Pietermaritzburg after his father sadly passed away in 2013, where he attended school in the picturesque village of Wartburg. His moving performance of local star Matthew Mole’s “Autumn” ensured him a spot on #TeamBobby, with his coach predicting that “South Africa is going to love you… a lot.” Watch Chad’s Blind Audition here.

Dawie de Jager (33) started out his singing career as a member of the Afrikaans rock band “Klopjag” which he was part of for over a decade. More recently, Dawie immersed himself in the movie business, composing musical scores for big South African feature films. He also started an orchid business with his parents in between all of his musical endeavours! Dawie’s rendition of U2’s “One” in the Blind Auditions had both Karen and Bobby delighted to see him as they immediately recognized him, but it was Bobby – who admitted to stealing money from this mother as a youngster in order to buy a “Klopjag” album – that secured Dawie for his team. Watch Dawie’s Blind Audition here.

Jean Citto (23) found his gift for music in church. Jean has always been musical but coming from a family of academics, it’s been a struggle for this qualified electrical engineer to convince his loved ones that a career in music could be a reality for him. He made his mark on the show with his rendition of Corinne Bailey Rae’s “Put Your Records On”, which landed him a position on #TeamBobby. Watch Jean’s Blind Audition here.

Jeanne-Mari Engelbrecht (29) from Strand is a Grade 4 English English teacher at Locherof Primary School, but has been singing for most of her life. Her brave and pitch-perfect rendition of the Dolly Parton classic “I Will Always Love You”, which was also covered by Whitney Houston in the 1990’s, had coach Bobby van Jaarsveld turning his chair for her, complimenting her on her control and her crystal clear tone. Watch Jeanne-Mari’s Blind Audition here.

John James Janse van Rensburg (18) is the youngest talent to enter The Voice SA this season and is still in Matric at his high school in Carltonville. John James absolutely stunned all four of the coaches who turned for his cover of Meghan Trainor’s “Like I’m Gonna Lose You”. “My heart skipped a beat when I heard you sing,” Karen Zoid gushed, while Lira and Kahn also gave him high praise. But it was Bobby who told John James to go with his heart when it came to picking a coach, and clearly John James had already made up his mind as he chose Bobby without hesitation. Watch John James’ Blind Audition here.

Josh Ansley (31) has been singing and performing ever since childhood and was a regular performer with the Barnyard Theatre group until recently. Josh’s blistering rendition of the AC/DC classic “Shook Me All Night Long” got him four chair turns and incredibly high praise from the coaches. But it was coach Bobby who turned for him first and with that, Bobby gained one of his most energetic new talents. Watch Josh’s Blind Audition here.

Marco Basson (23) is a qualified and full time chemical engineer who has quietly been nurturing his singing talent since childhood. Having sung mostly in church and at university, Marco came to The Voice SA to perform an ingenious rendition of Nick Jonas’s “Jealous”, proving that looks can be deceiving, as this nerdy looking engineer pulled off some seriously high notes! Marco received four chair turns from the coaches and despite some strong pitches from Kahn, Lira and Karen, he felt that his home on the show was with TeamBobby. Watch Marco’s Blind Audition here.

Meggan Moore (25) is a rock ‘n roller all the way from beautiful Langebaan, where she used to make jewelry and leatherwork with crystals before switching to singing full time. Her cover of K.T Tunstall’s “Black Horse and a Cherry Tree” ensured that she will now receive plenty of mentorship from coach Bobby van Jaarsveld, who was very excited to have a “rock chick” on his team for the very first time since he’s been a coach on the show. Watch Meggan’s Blind Audition here.

Rick Jansen (18) is the second teenager to be welcomed to Bobby’s team. At school in Centurion, Rick suffered a serious sporting injury, breaking his neck in three places. While he was making a miraculous recovery, Rick picked up the guitar that his grandmother bought him and started playing and singing. The rest was history! Rick sang Calvin Harris’s “This Is What You Came For” and his solid performance won him a space on Bobby’s team. Watch Rick’s Blind Audition here.

The Battle rounds of the series will start on Sunday, 2 April, as The Voice SA takes a one week break on Sunday, 26 March to make way for the live broadcast of Miss South Africa.

The Voice South Africa, sponsored by Dialdirect, is broadcast every Sunday night on M-Net channel 101 at 17:30 and every Monday night at 18:00 on M-Net City channel 115.

Viewers can also visit www.mnet.tv/thevoice to watch exclusive interviews with the coaches and talent, and follow all the breaking news and conversations around the show on Twitter @VoiceSA / #TheVoiceSA or on the official “Voice SA” Facebook page. You can also download The Voice SA app today for exclusive show-related games and special features.