The Top 18 of South Africa’s biggest talent show has been announced! Catch them in action on SA’s Got Talent, from Tuesday 8 October at 8:30pm on e.tv.

This year’s vibrant bunch of talented South Africans has much to offer. Think an 11-year old vocalist, a magician, a ventriloquist, tabla and harmonium players, a male pole dancer, and be ready for some jaw-dropping performances. 

Rapid Blue's Executive Producer of SA's Got Talent, Kee-Leen Irvine says, “Embarking on a search for South Africa's greatest talent is definitely the highlight of the year. With acts from every corner of South Africa, from Houghton to Hillcrest and Spruitview to Springbok, our viewers are treated to a veritable feast of entertainment.”

The aim of Got Talent is to try and showcase more than vocalists and dancers, and this year saw arguably the best and widest range of talent ever – people who are so inspiring either because of the odds that they have overcome to hone their talent or because of their testimony to sheer hard work.

“The tough bit comes when the judges are faced with whittling all the magnificent acts that they have seen to just 18 semi-finalists and this year was the most difficult of all. Each and every act that has been selected deserves to be here and I salute them for making it to this stage of the competition, “ adds Irvine.

The live finale of SA's Got Talent will replace Scandal! on Thursday, 17 October at 7:30pm. Scandal! will move to the 8:30pm slot for the day and the results show will follow at 9PM.

SAGT TOP 18 SEMI-FINALISTS:

ACT NAME:        Ludopie
NAME:                 Luzuko Namba
AGE:                    18
FROM:                  Margate, KZN
OCCUPATION:     Pupil at Wesbury College of Science

Luzuko was born in a small Eastern Cape town called Mqanduli. Like most boys, Luzuko started dancing by imitating Micheal Jackson. Through the years, he has moved on to pantsula, hip hop, crumping, popping and locking, and eventually dubstep.

ACT NAME:         Divyog & Keeran
NAME:                  Divyog Panchoo & Keeran Eshwarlall
AGE:                     27, 39   
FROM:                  Riverhorse Valley, DBN, KZN   
OCCUPATION:    Service Consultant, Building Inspector

Divyog started playing the tabla at the age of four, he studied under Guruji Abeydhanand Beejan for 15 years and also plays the Dholak and other Indian percussion instruments. Keeran’s love for music happened “accidentally”, as he puts it. He was first introduced to the harmonium when he was 16 by his father who challenged him to play it and he never looked back. Divyog and Keeran have been performing together for the last five years.

ACT NAME:        Glamipulator
NAME:                 Olwethu Dyantyi
AGE:                     20   
FROM:                  Khayelitsha, Cape Town, Western Cape   
OCCUPATION:     Intern at the College of Magic

Olwethu is a 20-year old Magician from Khayelitsha in Cape Town where he lives with his parents and four sisters.
In 2005 Olwethu enrolled at the College of Magic to begin his 6-year course. In 2009 he became the Junior Magician Champion and in 2010 he was selected to represent South Africa at the World Teen magic Seminar in Las Vegas. In 2012 he went to Italy to perform for a reality TV show called La Grande Magia and also went to the Olympics of Magic World Championships in The UK, and later that year he was also invited to Beijing to perform.

ACT NAME:        Polarity
NAME:                 Trevor Schoonraad
AGE:                    35   
FROM:                 Woodstock, Cape Town, Western Cape   
OCCUPATION:   Dancer, Pilates Instructor

Trevor was born and raised in Pretoria, but currently resides in Woodstock, Cape Town.
While in school he struggled with being bullied because he was a ballet dancer. Growing up in a conservative area it was difficult for people to understand why a boy wanted to be a dancer. Trevor didn’t let this get him down and he continued dancing. He became a principle dancer for an international company and dances en pointe. While he was in London performing at a variety show, he saw a pole dance act and fell in love with this form of dance.

ACT NAME:         Lyrical Swagg
NAME:                  Lebohang Tsoari, Moleboheng Khanye
AGE:                     23, 20
FROM:                  Kagiso, Krugersdorp, Gauteng   
OCCUPATION:     Sound Engineering Graduate and Accounting Student

Lyrical Swagg are two young ladies from Kagiso who describe themselves as “Girls of no worries”. 
When they were given the challenge to create a theme track for their crew they realized that they were both skilled rappers. For the last two years they have been rapping together. Their greatest challenge since becoming Lyrical Swag is the stereotype that girls can’t rap and feel that if they could change one thing about the world it would be that stereotype.

ACT NAME:         Nadia
NAME:                  Nadia Van Der Westhuizen
AGE:                      11   
FROM:                   Brackenfell, Cape Town, WC   
OCCUPATION:     Scholar

Nadia lives with her grandparents and two younger siblings in Brackenfell, Cape Town. She began singing at the age of four, when her grandfather Johan used to sing at church and she wanted to sing with him. After about a year they began performing together. Nadia would like to become a professional singer like Selena Gomez. She also enjoys playing the guitar and doing gymnastics and is a good scholar, she won junior student of the year in 2012. 

ACT NAME:        Johnny Apple
NAME:                 Juan Appelgrein
AGE:                    16   
FROM:                 King George Park, George, Western Cape   
OCCUPATION:   Scholar

Juan Appelgrein who goes by the stage name “Johnny Apple” is originally from Vanderbijlpark in Gauteng but lives in George in the Western Cape.
Johnny’s dreams are very simple; all he wants to do is sing! He grew up in a musical family but it was his dance classes that got him into singing. Thus far, the largest audience that he has performed for was over a thousand people at the Portuguese Festival in Cape Town.

ACT NAME:        KDS
NAME:                 Keanan McClune
                             Paxton Simons
                             Summer Noble
                             Micaela Loots
                             Kyle Moerat
                             Herschelle Slee
AGE:                    16 -18
FROM:                 Retreat, Steenberg, Constantia, Belhar, Athlone and Heideveld, Western Cape
OCCUPATION:   Scholars

This group of three couples have been together for the last nine years.
They have been dancing at Kim’s Dance Studio, and have been part of the Federation of Dancesport South Africa (FEDANSA) and World Dancesport Federation (WDSF). Their greatest ambition is to become world Latin dance champs. To add to that, their greatest accomplishment is that they all have are SA titles behind them.

ACT NAME:       Lil Diezo
NAME:                Daneon Dean Kruger
AGE:                   15
FROM:                Promosa Potchefstroom
OCCUPATION:  Scholar

If it’s one thing that Daneon Kruger (15) knows how to do, is to entertain people. Daneon, also known as Lil Diezo, is a young rapper from Potchefstroom.

Lil Diezo started pursuing his dream of rapping two years ago at the age of 13. He writes his own music and has a producer who does his beats for him.

NAME:                 Palesa Mohlamme
AGE:                    13
FROM:                 Meiringspark, Klerksdorp, North West
OCCUPATION:   Scholar

Palesa Mohlamme from Klerksdorp is a young Rhythmic Gymnast. She has been doing this art from the age of six.

She belongs to the Klerksdorp School of Gymnastics, and looks up to Daria Dmitreva who won the 2012 Olympic Rhythmic Gymnastics. Her greatest ambition is to win the Olympics and Commonwealth. She has won the SA championship three times in row. Her dream job is to become a Sports Coach.

ACT NAME:       U.C.K
NAME:                Anrique Farmer
                            Keenan Speelman
AGE:                   17 & 18
FROM:                Ceres, Western Cape
OCCUPATION:  Scholars

Keenan and Anrique are the best of friends and they call themselves U.C.K, which stands for You See Kings. Their shared passion for robotic dance got them dancing together since 2010.

Keenan started dancing ever since he was a little child. He loves to dance to Michael Jackson’s music. Then he danced for every local dance crew until he met Anrique and everything changed. Anrique started out watching a lot of dance movies, trying to imitate what he saw. He taught himself new moves and tried to improve every day.

ACT NAME:         Cindy–Ann
NAME:                  Cindy–Ann Abrahams
AGE:                      22
FROM:                  Strandfontein Cape Town, Western Cape
OCCUPATION:     Freelance Performer

Blessed with the ability to see beyond her circumstances, Cindy-Ann is the epitome of a survivor. Born 23 years ago in Strandfontein, she experienced her first deal of heartbreak when her parents split 9 months after her birth. Her mother, loving and nurturing, took in a mother and son who were desolate. Today they all live as one family.

After completing high school she went on to attend the University of Cape Town where she was chorus in several UCT Opera productions. Sadly, life took a turn for Cindy-Anne a year later in her life when her mother was diagnosed with diabetes and was forced to retire early because her eyesight was deteriorating. A few months later her mother was diagnosed with carpal tunnel, and Cindy-Anne could not continue her studies due to financial limitations.

She’s tenacious and determined to come out on top. She has big dreams of one day living in Vienna, singing classics and performing with Monserrate Caballe. She loves to write songs.

ACT NAME:         Ezio
NAME:                  Ezio Miller
AGE:                     17
FROM:                  Cape Town, Western Cape
OCCUPATION:     Scholar

Ezio is a 17-year-old scholar who is currently busy with Matric. He grew up in a humble home with his grandparents, who are now deceased and admits to having a childhood filled with smiles and laughter, yet emptiness. He remembers how dancing was his sole refuge to escape from his thoughts.
He started dancing at the age of nine and was highly inspired by his mother. Ambitious and dedicated to his craft, he shares that he would like to one day become a teacher to motivate young people to achieve more in their lives.

NAME:                Gerrard Quevauvilliers
AGE:                   12
FROM:                Mayberry Park, Alberton, Johannesburg
OCCUPATION:   Scholar

Gerrard is a budding 12-year-old scholar who has a big interest in what most children would frown or laugh at: Ventriloquism.

His act started when he watched ventriloquists and was fascinated by them. He’s been doing this for a year and his family supports this endeavour. Gerrard would like to one day become a vet because of his love for animals.

ACT NAME:         Yello
NAME:                  Lloyd Kandlin
AGE:                     38
FROM:                  Cape Town
OCCUPATION:    Actor, acrobat, designer, singer

Lloyd was born 38 years ago in Zimbabwe. His family moved to South Africa when he was six years old. He’s an actor, acrobat, designer and singer, with a qualification in Drama and Musical Theatre.
He recalls being a highly creative and imaginative child. He started this particular act seven years ago when he joined a circus troupe in 1999 that started touring internationally.

ACT NAME:         Bambino Juggler
NAME:                  Siyabonga Swelindawo
AGE:                     25
FROM:                  Nyanga, Cape Town
OCCUPATION:     Circus performer

Twenty-five-year old Siyabonga, unlike many of his peers, is a circus performer. His act started when a visitor from Swaziland watched his act and suggested that he makes it a one man show. He was a student at zip zap Circus School where he also taught juggling. He’s a big dreamer because not only is he a performer, he is also studying electrical engineering. In his words: “it won’t hurt to have a backup plan”.

ACT NAME:          Tronix
NAME:                   Hayley Bennett-Freidin
                               Justin Mancer                                                                       
                               Dale Scrimgeour
                               David Malcolm                                                                                
                               Stephenson de Beer 
                               Duane Joaquim                                                                             
                               Le Che' Hendry
                               Samantha Viana                                                                                
                               Nadia Jansen van Rensburg
                               Tamara Lee Thompson
AGE:                      22- 31
FROM:                  Johannesburg
OCCUPATION:     Freelance Dancers

They are a unique act, what one would describe as vivid. But it’s the “glow in the dark costumes” that make this act a must watch. It gives you the illusion that you are in a sci- fi movie, not knowing what’s going to pop up. It’s fun to watch because of the exciting factor of bodies moving in costumes that light up. These illuminated costumes display a very popular ultra-high technology style created by means of ultra-bright LED lights
They all specialize in a unique style of dancing using technology. They are all freelancers in the entertainment industry but have been doing this act for 2 years.

ACT NAME:          JustinLeigh Band
NAME:                  Jamie-Leigh Shultz and Justin-Lee Shultz
AGE:                      10 and 6
FROM:                   Fairlands, Randburg
OCCUPATION:     Jamie Leigh is a Scholar and Justin Lee is in pre-school

Jamie-Leigh is a drummer and Justin-Lee is a keyboard player and they have played together as a band for 10 months. Jamie–Leigh started playing drums at the age of 6 years old and usually jammed with her dad. When Justin-Lee started playing at the age of 5-years-old in April 2012, they started jamming together and then formed The JustinLeigh Band in August 2012.

The band entered SA’s Got Talent to get as much exposure as possible. They feel that South Africans have not seen such young musicians playing at the level that they are playing at.

Details for the live semi-finals and finale
•    Live Semi-final 1 – Tuesday, 8 October at 8:30PM
•    Results show for Semi-final 1 – Wednesday, 9 October at 9:35PM
•    Live Semi-final 2 – Thursday, 10 October at 8:30PM
•    Results show for semi-final 2 – Saturday, 12 October at 6:30PM
•    Live semi-final 3 – Tuesday, 15 October at 6:30PM
•    Results show for semi-final 3 – Wednesday, 16 October at 21:35PM
•    Live Finale – Thursday, 17 October at 7:30PM
•    Results show – Thursday, 17 October at 9PM

Stay tuned to find out who makes it into the top six finalists!