So outstanding is some of the talent in Durban that Mr Nasty melts several times - and stuns fellow judge Gareth Cliff with his unexpected response to a contestant.
"Sing me another one honey," "Come here, let me hug you" - and other words of praise, such as "fantastic" and "great", feature in tonight's episode; at one point Abrahams even sings along with a young contestant.
KwaZulu-Natal has produced only one Idols winner so far, with Jason Hartman taking the title along with Sasha-Lee two years ago. Last season, Durbanite Lloyd Cele was runner-up to Elvis Blue from the Eastern Cape.
The Sunday Times had a sneak preview of tonight's show, which features a number of young contestants. Among them is Shekhinah Donnell, 16, who said she had become a celebrity at her school since entering.
The grade 11 pupil at Queensburgh Girls' High in Durban has been watching the show since she was 11.
Adopted when she was one month old, Shekhinah lives in Glenmore with her father Phillip, stepmother Meera and siblings Elizabeth, Matthew and John.
She started vocal training about two months before the Idols judges arrived in Durban and is currently performing in a school play in the role of Sour Kangaroo in the musical Suessical .
Returning to the show is Prime Zulu, who said he had been sent packing when he buckled under the pressure during the top 100 round at Sun City last season.
''I want to make up for all the time that I lost. I want to write songs. I will do better than I did. I am more focused now," said Zulu, 22.
A guitarist, Zulu will square up against 18-year-old Jonathan Grayson of Pietermaritzburg. The Michael Buble fan, who completed matric last year, is spending this year with a gospel group, Destiny Team, based at his church.
Idols is on M-Net at 5.30pm today
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