At some stage in their careers, many singers and bands go through a metamorphosis. Liesl Penniken, Jacqui Carpede and Mariechan Luiters of Jamali are no exception.
The pretty, preppy, ballad-singing trio, who participated in the Coca-Cola Popstars competition on television eight years ago, have gone the raunchy route, following in the footsteps of Rihanna, Britney Spears and Beyoncé.
At the launch of their fourth studio album, Toxic Candy, held at Emperor's Palace last Friday, the women and their six-piece backing band showed off their new, sexier look as they traded big vocal runs of earlier and current hits.
The show began with the trio dressed in the Gert-Johan Coetzee evening gowns they wear on their album's cover photograph. But then came leather outfits and suggestive dancing and, on Can't get Enough, they might have left parents wishing they had left their kiddies behind.
Previous hits, including Love Me For Me and Butterflies, received big cheers, which perhaps suggests that Jamali's fans are more comfortable swaying to the big ballads rather than kinky pop stompers. Either way, these women have earned their stripes - and for that they can go as skimpy as they like.