Every time Pineapple appeared on The Masked Singer South Africa, he delivered a show-stopping performance that highlighted his versatility and powerful voice. Yet for many weeks, the Super Detectives on SABC 2’s fun-filled guessing game struggled to peel back the identity of the multitalented man behind the Mask.
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Sensational Pineapple
Although J’Something, Somizi and Sithelo Shozi all mentioned Brenden’s name at some point, only Lady Detective Sithelo’s final guess was on target: the tropical sensation was the soulful former Idols South Africa runner-up, Grammy nominee, music producer and entrepreneur Brenden Praise.
In the spectacular quarter-final, all six remaining Masks, vying for the competition’s coveted Golden Mask trophy, set the stage alight in three high-stakes face-offs. First, Chopsticks set out to pick apart Sheep, followed by a clash between the popular critters Gogga and Mosquito, after which spiky Pineapple took on playful pooch Spotty.
Joining the quest to crack these costume-covered cases, two former guest detectives brought fresh eyes to the investigation this time. Metro FM host Tbo Touch and quick-witted entertainer Moshe Ndiki stood in for regular panellists J’Something and Skhumba Hlophe.
After all the battles – and wild speculation – the vote sent Chopsticks, Gogga and Pineapple to the dreaded Danger Zone. However, the judges saved Gogga, meaning either Chopsticks or Pineapple would advance to the semi-final. Unfortunately for Pineapple – but fortunately for those eager to get to the core of his identity puzzle – the zesty performer had to step out from behind his flavour-packed façade after the season’s closest vote.
It was a particularly bittersweet moment for Sithelo, who had fallen head over heels for Pineapple as he effortlessly moved between genres and demonstrated his impressive vocal prowess throughout his sweet stint on The Masked Singer South Africa.
In previous episodes, Pineapple sliced into Benson Boone’s pop-rock song “Beautiful Things”, the Backstreet Boys’ ballad “I Want It That Way”, the electronic dance music number “Timber” by Pitbull featuring Kesha, and the amapiano hit “Bengicela” by MaWhoo, GL_Ceejay and Thukuthela. With that, the detectives concurred that Pineapple was an experienced singer and “in it to win it”.
The Big Reveal
After serenading this week’s sleuths, who swayed along to his rendition of Chris Brown’s “Residuals”, Pineapple dropped more juicy clues about his true self. Before the big reveal, standout teasers included shiny golden trophies, allusions to cravings, mentions of misty mountains, a subtropical farm and a town famous for pancakes, as well as themes of movement, faith, rejection and driving with soft music playing.
These puzzle pieces pointed the mystery-solvers towards weight-loss struggles, faith, upbringing, and, most importantly, a television singing competition such as Idols South Africa.
In his final clue package, once again set in the exotic “Pineapple Groove Bar”, the zesty superstar mixed drinks decorated with the flags of different countries, while teasing: “My tongue learnt to travel long before my passport did.” This prompted Somizi to interject that Pineapple was multilingual.
Pineapple then explained that understanding him required only three images: something roasted; something that moves, represented by a Man in Black riding a bicycle; and something he believes in, depicted by a cross on the beach.
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When guest detective Tbo Touch probed Pineapple about his hidden talents, the answer served up more confusion than clarity. Pineapple revealed that he had once been on the verge of wearing gold-and-black boots professionally, but a missing piece of paper had cost him his dream.
Clues
As in previous episodes, the clues produced a cocktail of names. Picking up on Pineapple’s obvious faith, Tbo Touch took a shot at award-winning kwaito star Bouga Luv, also known as Bouga 2 Shoes, whose real name is Kabelo Mabalane. Somizi and Sithelo again went down the Idols South Africa route. Somizi mentioned Brenden Praise, a name he had put forward before, while Sithelo returned to one of her earlier guesses, Lloyd Cele.
But guest detective Moshe Ndiki’s out-of-the-box thinking led him to wonder whether the cross represented not faith but Pineapple’s name. He therefore chose the rapper-turned-entrepreneur ProVerb.
Ultimately, when Pineapple found himself in the prickly predicament of being unmasked, the detectives had to lock in their final guesses. Before Pineapple relinquished his crown, Tbo Touch stuck with Kabelo Mabalane, while Moshe went with ProVerb. Somizi, however, squeezed out a new name: award-winning gospel star Dumi Mkokstad.
Meanwhile, the roasted coffee beans suddenly made sense to Sithelo, who returned to a name she had mentioned in an earlier episode: Brenden Praise, owner of Sunday Coffee.
But what about the soccer clue? In his parting words, Brenden disclosed that the boot referred to trials with Kaizer Chiefs when he was 13 years old: “I played really well, but I forgot my documents. I didn’t have my birth certificate, and then, when they came to pick me, the other kids were like, ‘No, he’s too old. He’s not playing in the right division.’ And then they overlooked me, and I never played.”
If you missed this thrilling episode, which also saw Pineapple sadly leave The Masked Singer South Africa game, catch the rebroadcast on Thursday at 21:00 on SABC 1 or on Friday at 13:30 on SABC 2. And don’t forget to tune in to the highly anticipated semi-final, featuring the Top 5 Masks, on Saturday, 19 September at 19:00 on SABC 2.
The Masked Singer South Africa Season 3 is produced by Rose and Oaks Media for Primedia Studios. Andolex®, King Pie and Mentos are the sponsors.
Sources and References
Also read: Rap icon Jack Parow flexed his muscles as The Masked Singer South Africa’s green machine, Spinach
