VIDEO: The Voice SA Season 3 – 16 Singers are through to the Live Shows!

The coaches have made their selections and now it’s all up to the fans as 16 The Voice South Africa contenders head into the exciting Live Shows next week to compete for the viewers’ votes!

Coaches LIRA, Riky Rick, Riana Nel, and Francois van Coke chose the most promising talent for their teams in the Blind Auditions and put them through their paces in the KnockOut Rounds, and then pitted them against each other in the ferocious Battles, and now only the best of the best will get to perform live.

#TeamLIRA will be represented in the Lives by Capetonian singer Krista Jonas (29), the flamboyant Yahto Kraft (18) from Alberton, Sbu Dludlu (34) from Duduza, andThe PJ Twins (20) from Bonteheuwel.

#TeamRiky consists of Amy Tjasnik (26) from Cape Town, Durban sound engineer Ross Charles (26), the glamorous Pretoria duo Aura, and the 28-year-old Bitcoin entrepreneur and musician from Port Elizabeth, Eon Claude le Roux.

#TeamRiana’s Talent are Lelo Ramasimong (33) from Johannesburg, 26-year-old industrial designer Elisha James from Pretoria, Pretoria singer and actor Francois Viljoen (30), and Siki Jo-An Qwazi (25) from Port Elizabeth.

And the #TeamVanCoke singers are Daniel Jay (23) from Port Elizabeth, the singing waitress Tasché Burger (18) from Brackenfell, Cape Town payroll officer Anslin Gysman (22) from Filipi, and the 39-year-old pub singer Chezelle Shahadat from Johannesburg

Also doing battle against each other in the Strepsils Viewers’ Battle next week in the first Live Show at the Mosaïek Teatro in Fairlands, Johannesburg, will be the Talent rescued by the fans:

For #TeamLIRA: Carmen Basson (20) from Kroonstad

For #TeamRiky: Katlego Makgotlwe (23) from Vosloorus

For #TeamRiana: Soné Joubert (27) from Gordon’s Bay

For #TeamVanCoke: Ashur Petersen (26) from Cape Town

To put Carmen in the Battle, SMS 01 to 33692 or vote for free here.

To put Katlego in the Battle, SMS 02 to 33692 or vote for free here.

To put Soné in the Battle, SMS 03 to 33692 or vote for free here.

To put Ashur in the Battle, SMS 04 to 33692 or or vote for free here.

SMSs cost R1.50 per SMS, while voting on mobi and web is free. All info on how to vote as well as the terms and conditions for voting are available here. The voting lines opened at 19:00 on Sunday, 12 May, and will close on Tuesday, 14 May, at 22:00.

Tickets for the first Live Show of The Voice South Africa Season 3 at the Mosaïek Teatro in Fairlands, Johannesburg, on Sunday, 19 May are available from Computicket now.

For the first Battle of the evening Francois van Coke pitched the 39-year-old pub singer Chezelle Shahadat from Johannesburg against the 24-year-old Pretoria lawyer Matthew Reid, singing the Marvin Gaye Motown classic “Heard It Through the Grapevine”. Coach Francois and his co-coach Majozi had to caution the singers not to perform a duet, but to do Battle! LIRA couldn’t decide between the two singers, but Riky Rick thought that Matthew brought a little bit extra. Francois thought it was one of the best Battles they’d seen, and he selected Chezelle.

Coach Riana Nel pitted her #TeamLIRA steal, 32-year-old Corneil Muller from Bloemfontein, against Pretoria singer and actor Francois Viljoen (30), performing the Sting, Rod Stewart, and Bryan Adams power ballad “All For Love”, from the movie 1993 “The Three Musketeers”. Corneil’s original coach LIRA was impressed with how he adapted his classical style to more commercial music, and she thought he won the Battle. But Francois van Coke thought his namesake had carried the day. It was a tough decision for Riana, and it was Francois Viljoen with his modern new look who made it through to the Lives.

Next up was #TeamRiky, with the Grade 11 Randburg schoolgirl Morgan Beesley battling the 28-year-old Bitcoin entrepreneur and musician from Port Elizabeth, Eon Claude le Roux. They performed Céline Dion’s “Angel” and LIRA commended the young Morgan for the way she held her own, and gave her a hug. “I want you to win!” Riana admitted to Eon, but the decision was Riky Rick’s, and he chose Eon.

For her final Battle LIRA pitted music tutor Slindo Zondo (29) from Durban against The PJ Twins (20) from Bonteheuwel, singing theCéline Dion and Andrea Bocelli anthem “The Prayer”, from the 1998 movie “Quest For Camelot”. Sli was recovering from flu during the rehearsals, but the trio’s powerful performance left their coach quite overwhelmed.

The very last Battle of The Voice SA Season 3 was between #TeamRiana’s Vuyisile Mdlophane (24) from Richards Bay and Siki Jo-An Qwazi (25) from Port Elizabeth, quite fittingly performing the Aretha Franklin classic “Respect”. Riky Rick said watching them was a beautiful experience. Riana said it felt cruel to have to choose between the two divas, but it was Siki Jo-An’s versatility, she said, that took her through to the Live Shows.

The Voice South Africa airs on M-Net 101 every Sunday at 17:30 and is repeated on VUZU, Channel 116, on Mondays at 20:00. It also be available on DStv CatchUp. Fans can visit mnet.tv and follow all the breaking news and conversations around the show on Twitter @MNet / #TheVoiceSA and on the official M-Net Facebook page.

Voting for The Strepsils Viewers’ Battle opens on Sunday, 28 April at 7pm and closes on Tuesday, 14 May at 10pm. Vote or register to vote here. The Voice SA airs on Sundays at 17:30.