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Will #TeamKaren’s Powerhouse Singers Go All The Way?

News
23 March 2017
In the second season of The Voice SA Afrikaans rocker Karen Zoid has managed to bag some of the show’s biggest powerhouse voices.
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In the second season of The Voice SA Afrikaans rocker Karen Zoid has managed to bag some of the show’s biggest powerhouse voices. Among them were five singers who received a full house of chair turns from all four of the coaches: Marissa Petzer, the girlfriend of another #TeamKaren alumni Almur Marais from Stilfontein; pop diva Samantha Leonard from Kimberley; Celest Schoeman from Strandfontein who wowed with an Adele cover; husky-toned Emma Ellis who was joined by Karen on stage when she forgot the lyrics of her Blind Audition song and Armand Joubert from eMalahleni whose impressive vocal range left the coaches gob-smacked.

But Karen made sure that she put together a multi-dimensional team of talent, as she also has some very unique voices on board. There is the smooth, jazzy voice of Lindo Sithole from Pietermaritzburg and the youthful sounds of Christie Woolmington’s vocal quality, to name a few.

Herewith everything you need to know about #TeamKaren:

  • Armand Joubert (21) started gigging regularly in and around eMalahleni from when he was in Grade 9, so even at his young age he is an old pro. He has been the opening act for major Afrikaans artists such as Nicolas Louw and Ray Dylan, but his biggest break so far was receiving four chair turns from The Voice SA coaches after his incredible rendition of Ariana Grande’s “Into You.” Karen compared his range to the likes of Axl Rose, Bruno Mars and Michael Jackson – esteemed company indeed! Wacth Armand’s Blind Audition here.

 

  • Celest Schoeman (28) from Strandfontein is a full time musician whose bold and risky audition of Adele’s “When We Were Young” bagged her a full house of chair turns from the four coaches and a standing ovation from them too. “You completely sucked me into your world, I just sat back and listened to your beautiful music,” Karen gushed after Celest’s performance. Watch Celest’s Blind Audition here.

 

  • Chico Muya (24) from Durban was encouraged to enter The Voice SA by his fellow KZN-based muso friends, Chloe Clark and Gavin Walsh, who both appeared on Season 1 of the show. Chico is a full time musician and has even opened for Kahn Morbee on two occasions in Durban, but his version of Oasis’s “Wonderwall” spoke to coach Karen Zoid, who landed him on her team. Watch Chico’s Blind Audition here.

 

  • Christie Woolmington (20) from Johannesburg is a graphic design student who spent her spare time auditioning for any musical gig that was going – including The Voice SA. Both Karen and Lira turned their chairs after hearing Christie’s rendition of Colbie Caillat’s “Bubbly”, with Karen telling her that both she and Lira would buy her album immediately. Watch Christie’s Blind Audition here.

 

  • Emma Ellis (21) from Port Elizabeth’s Voice SA dream was for Karen Zoid to turn for her, and while she was performing The Plain White T’s “Hey There, Delilah”, Karen did just that. Emma got such a shock that it literally took her breath – and her lyrics – away, prompting Karen to join Emma on stage to assist her in finishing the song together. With that, the other three coaches all pressed their buzzers to enjoy the rest of the performance, which Emma recovered from like a pro. Watch Emma’s Blind Audition here.

 

  • Lindo Sithole (22) studied a Bachelor of Social Sciences in Business at UKZN Pietermartizburg before venturing into music full time. His biggest musical inspiration is his late grandfather, who he never got to meet in his lifetime, but whose legacy as one of the best musicians in Pietermaritzburg – as well as his unique sense of style – fired up a passion in Lindo too. Lindo got himself a spot on #TeamKaren with the Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse classic “Burn Out”. Watch Lindo's Blind Audition here.

 

  • Marissa Petzer (22) found love when she entered Season 1 of The Voice SA last year – with Top 4 talent Almur Marais, who was also on #TeamKaren. This year she returned with a whole lotta confidence and “A Whole Lotta Love”, courtesy of her Led Zepplin song choice. Her impressive audition had all four of the coaches turning for her, but she followed in her boyfriend’s footsteps and picked a spot on Karen’s team. Watch Marissa’s Blind Audition here.

 

  • PJ Pretorius (26) got his start in music singing in church in Secunda where he grew up. Today he works as a full time worship leader at his church in Secunda, and his version of the Coldplay claissic “Yellow” won him three coaches’  turns. Despite high praise from both Lira and Kahn, PJ had his sights set on being a part of #TeamKaren. Watch PH’s Blind Audition here.

 

  • Samantha Landers (30) is a full time vocal coach from Durban who accompanied her good friend Chloe Clark to the auditions of the show in Season 1, but never took part herself. Samantha sang the technically challenging Judy Garland classic “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” and not only did she start the song off completely a cappella, she did it so well that coach Karen turned for her after the second note. Watch Sam’s Blind Audition here.

 

  • Samantha Leonard (24) from Kimberly has been singing since a very young age and has spent her adult life gigging all around South Africa. Her rip-roaring rendition of Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj’s “Bang Bang” had all four of the coaches pressing their buzzers and getting heated amongst each other as they begged Samantha to join their respective teams. But Samantha had her sights set on one coach from the very beginning. Watch Samantha’s Blind Audition here.

 

  • The Massers – Lillian and John Masser (duo). This brother and sister duo from Pretoria have been performing together and solo for much of their lives. They sang a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” – a personal favourite of both Kahn and Karen – who turned their chairs for the duo. Kahn predicted  that The Massers would choose Karen over him, which is exactly what they did. Watch their Blind Audition here.

 

  • Veronique Lalouette (35) grew up in the South African music business as her father, Denny Lalouette, is one of the country’s most well-known professional bass players. He even plays as a part of The Voice SA house band! Veronique belted out Tina Turner’s “River Deep, Mountain High” and both Lira and Karen turned for her at the same time. As they saw Veronique – whom they both know since she is an established session musician in the industry – they were visibly thrilled for her. Watch Veronique’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 18:00on M-Net City channel 115.

Join The Voice SA conversation on The Voice SA Facebook page, via Twitter on @VoiceSA and @VoiceSA on Instagram using #TheVoiceSA, #TeamBobby, #TeamLira, #TeamKahn and #TeamKaren hashtags. The Voice South Africa is produced for M-Net by AMPN and sponsored by Dialdirect.