In the wake of the death of Refiloe Motha, a former member of the played-out Coca Cola Pop Star group, Adilah, we got to thinking about this once popular, but now phased out, singing competition – along with all the other groups that fizzled out faster than a warm can of Coke. So this Throwback Thursday, we remember these once famous groups and their short-lived bands.
Long before shows such as Idols, The Voice and X-Factor was Coca Cola Pop Stars, a singing competition that gave South Africa its first taste of reality TV and talent search. Pop Stars was actually an international franchise in over 40 countries including South Africa, Germany, Kenya and the US. And although the singing competition gave birth to Idols and was one of the most successful TV show formats ever produced, it was sadly short-lived due to its gradual failure, which eventually lead to its canning in many countries.
101
101 was SA’s first Pop Stars competition winners. Pam Andrews, Erin Samson, Ntumiseng Mokhasipe, Preston Sihlangu and Kurt Herman tasted instant fame when they were crowned the 2001 winners of the show. The band combined all their ages and created the name, 101. 101 released one album and their first single was titled Who’s It Gonna Be? The group split after a while and members pursued solo careers – none of them made it big and they quickly disappeared.
Pam went on to act on Backstage and Rhythm City but has now moved to London. Kurt is one of the back-up singers on Idols SA while Preston is now a music producer. According to Daily Voice, Kurt says a reunion may be in the pipeline for the group. It also reports that Erin has moved to Israel with her husband and is singing there. It is unclear what Ntumiseng is doing.
Adilah
Adilah was the second group to win the talent search in 2002. The name means “equal” in Swahili. The group was hip and touted as a band that represented and reflected the South African youth culture. The group was made up of Karabo Motlhabi, Thembisile Ntaka, Letang Tlome, Refiloe Motha, who passed away last month and Itumeleng Kgosana, the only male in the group.
Like 101, the group released one album and their first single was Ses’fikile. They disappeared as quickly as they had appeared but not before attempting solo careers. Thembisile is the only member to have succeeded in this venture and has just released her third solo album. She also toured Europe in 2011. We are yet to find out what the rest of the members are doing with their lives these days.
Ghetto Lingo
The boy band, Ghetto Lingo, won a very interesting season of Pop Stars – the battle of the sexes. The group, which was made up of four good-looking guys, named; Martin Pike, Sibusiso “Pablo” Ntshangase, Philemon and Bjorn Blignaut, won the 2004 Pop Stars title over girl group favourites, Jamali. Their looks got the ladies hot under the collar and it’s sad to say that they too are missing in action. Ghetto Lingo released one album and their first single Pump it Up was loved by many.
It’s believed the group disbanded because they couldn’t manage the pressures of being a pop group. Martin changed his tune and went into Gospel music while Sibusiso pursued acting along with a solo music career. Philemon was reported to have married and working for a cable installation company. In 2007, Bjorn made it to Top 6 of Idols SA and also acted in the Dream Girls theatre production and was also said to be singing on cruise ships.
As irony would have it, the runner’s up, Jamali, became more successful than the winning all-male group.
Nne-Vida
The final group to win Coca Cola Pop Stars was Nne-Vida in 2010. By now, the novelty of this competition had sadly died down. According to TVSA, Nne-Vida members chose this name because it meant “4 Life”. “Nne” means “four” in Swahili, while “vida” means “life” in various languages including Portuguese and Spanish.
TVSA reports that the four members chose the name as a promise to their fans that they’ll never disappear or fold – sadly, like their predecessors, this is exactly what Nne-Vida did because they are nowhere to be found. The group – made up of Oscar Toorn, Lihle Ngongoma, Zinhle Dube and Lyle Anthony – released one album and their first single was called Back Up.
Over the 10 year period this competition ran for, it’s disappointing to learn that none of the winning groups made it – which is also disheartening considering the amount of time, effort and money that went into it; not forgetting the incredible opportunities the groups and singers had. We guess the Pop Stars era was good while it lasted and that each group enjoyed their 15 minutes of fame.
What are your thoughts on the flopped Coca Cola Pop Stars groups? Also, which of these groups did you like the most?
*Images from Snaparazzi and Gallo
