They have already worked for six hard months and last night's Idols Top 10 had to show South Africa that they know how to rock the stage. The challenging theme for the first Top 10 Spectacular was pop/rock, a genre that demands energy, vocal control, extra oomph and major attitude.  

For the first time in this season, the legendary Idols band accompanied the contestants and they could also use a music instrument of their choice.  

So as soon as tonight's special celebrity guest judge, Parlotones frontman Kahn Morbee, got settled in behind the judges' desk with Randall Abrahams, Mara Louw and Gareth Cliff, Elvis Blue and his electric guitar got the party started with his rendition of the funk classic, Play That Funky Music, by Wild Cherry. Gareth said that performance really "hit the sweet spot" and he also congratulated the band on a "magic" arrangement. Mara said that Elvis should already be touring the world by now. Kahn Morbee also thought Elvis's performance was "nicely executed", and Randall reminded Elvis of his warning last week not to peak too soon. "It was very good," he said. "If you're gonna be this good, make sure you're this good next week."

Liezel had the pink hair tonight, but it was Gail Nkoane who channelled Pink, the rock star, with a version of her hit, Please Don't Leave Me. But unfortunately Gareth thought it missed the mark. "You're in trouble tonight," he predicted. Mara agreed. "The song was there but you were somewhere else," she told a disappointed Gail. Kahn thought Gail's performance was really good, though, but that her vocals were inconsistent. "It had its moments," Randall allowed, "but unfortunately too few of them."

Pieter West was up third, singing Maroon 5's Won't Go Home Without You. "Audiences always know best don't they," Gareth pointed out when the audience reaction to Pieter was so-so. "That was very lethargic," Gareth thought. Mara agreed that Pieter was "tired-looking and tired-sounding". Kahn was encouraging as always, though. He though Pieter had a great quality to his voice but that there were "pitching elements that needed to be sorted out". Randall summarized efficiently: "That's how the West was lost," he growled.
 
One of the biggest surprises of the evening, apart from Liezel's hair, was petite Adeline Mocke belting out Prince's epic Eighties hit, Purple Rain! "Meisiekind!" a delighted Gareth exclaimed. The bad news, he said, was that the performance was inconsistent. And the good news, which was a lot like the bad news, was that he thought she started off well but then lost her way. Mara thought that Adeline had "tried too hard", and advised her to go back and listen to the song. "I actually liked it," said kindly Kahn. He thought it was a good interpretation. And although Randall thought no one should ever do Prince songs, he did enjoy that Adeline brought that "Adeline pop-star quality" to it that he likes.

The pressure was really on for Jamie–Lee Sexton, who narrowly missed out on being sent home last week. Would her version of the Doors classic, Light My Fire be enough to redeem her? Gareth played Good News/Bad News again. The bad news, he said, was that Jamie-Lee's slow intro to the song was "rubbish". "But as soon as those drums kicked in and you started to move" things started to improve, he thought. "Compared to last week this was fantastic," he said. "As much as it wasn't bad, for me it was karaoke," Mara thought. Kahn agreed with Gareth that "the ending was brilliant", but Randall picked up on the fact that Jamie-Lee studies acting, and said it "sounded like an actor singing". For him it was "lukewarm". 

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