'Idols' winner plans to fill up Mbombela

23 November 2015 - 02:10 By Leonie Wagner

Karabo Mogane was last night crowned the 11th winner of SA Idols , having secured the bulk of the record 78.8 million votes. As the excited audience in the Carnival City auditorium came to terms with his victory, Karabo announced that he planned to "fill the Mbombela stadium" when he headlines a concert there to give back to his community.But it was judge Somizi Mhlongo who stole the show with his rendition of Black Coffee and Nakhane Touré's We Dance Again. With his back-up dancers and exquisite choreography, it was an award-winning performance.Making this the ultimate finale were the top ten's powerful opening performances as well as Mmatema Moremi's and Karabo's respective duets with Micasa's J'Something and Judith Sepuma.Between the fireworks, the smoke and the dancers, it was evident that this year's season was the best thanks in part to Somizi.But the night belonged to Mbombela's Karabo, whose performance gave the audience goose bumps. There is no denying that Mmatema is a great performer who also epitomises perseverance as this was her third attempt to win the title.Silvia Mogane, Karabo's mother, said her son loved singing Barry White's Practice What You Preach .She said: "When I was going through a traumatic time, one day he walked past me and sang a Zulu song. He was only six ... but I knew my boy could sing."Emotional family members, dressed in red in support of Karabo and yellow for Mmatema, stood in awe as both sang Beyoncé's I Was Here. Tirelo Moremi, Mmatema's sister, said it was amazing for their family to witness the finale."Seeing her on stage is a dream come true. It's so special," she said.The smooth vocalist was the picture of humility, saying: "My advice to everyone is: if it's your dream, own it and live it daily. Don't look at your circumstances."Randall Abrahams, director of Universal Music SA, confirmed that Karabo's debut album would be released on December 11...

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