There’s a quote that says, “a bad day in London is better than a good day anywhere else”. Idols hopeful Botlhale Phora got to experience this first-hand when he became one of this year’s top 3 and jetted off to England’s capital city for a little bit of R&R in a trip sponsored by Capitec. We caught up with the Ga-Rankuwa native to find out what the experience was like and how his journey on Idols has been.
Botlhale, Paxton and Mthokozisi took the London streets by storm when they toured the city, hitting major sites like the London Eye, speed boating on the River Thames and exploring the Madame Tussauds wax museum, and were given a Capitec debit card to spend on some keepsakes on their trip.
“My favorite figure was Nelson Mandela, the great hero himself, the father of freedom,” he told Channel24.
It wasn’t all fun and games though, with the top 3 having to jump into the studio for some recording time. When asked how the trip impacted his musical journey, Botlhale said that it motivated him quite a lot.
“Being in the same studio as the biggest artists like Jay Z, Amy Winehouse, Kanye West and The Beatles, is something huge!” he said, excitedly.
Botlhale claims that the most important lesson he’s learned through Idols is to always be punctual and respect everyone, while still being able to handle the pressure that comes with a competition like this.
A Great Big World’s Say Something is the first song Botlhale remembers knowing all the lyrics to and following Idols, he would like to venture into all genres of music because he feels that he is very versatile musically.“My Idols journey has been so great, it has been a great experience and I've learned quite a lot throughout the competition.”