Old Mutual’s Amazing Voices singing competition has been renewed for a second season. The new season is set to debut across Africa from 11th April 2021.
Since the launch of season two last year, 546 entries flooded in for the audition phase, in which the top 10 acapella groups from Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe and South Africa will be selected to experience the grueling judging process, for a chance to win the Ksh. 10.9 million ($100,000) grand prize.
It all began in October 2020, when all entrants submitted online videos. After an initial screening process, Africa’s top unsigned talent attended closed auditions before celebrity selectors in their home countries.
The in-country selectors and assistants included
- Nigeria: E-Kelly / Aramide
- Ghana: Pauline Odduro / Reggie Rockstone
- Kenya: Sanapei Tande / Ted Josiah
- Zimbabwe: Thembalami Tagwire / Misred
- South Africa: Buhlebendalo Mda / Morena Sefatsa
The top 10 groups, two from each country, will then set out for South Africa were they will undergo an intense musical, educational, and inspirational bootcamp at Sun City.
During an intense three weeks, while living in a COVID-19 bubble, the groups, of four, six and eight members, are put through their paces as they prepare for the final phase sing-off by having their vocal and performance abilities perfected by a team of experts. Their journey to stardom will be closely monitored by the experienced judging table from each of the countries and supported by the show advisor Zwai Bala.
The talented judges table includes
- Zimbabwe’s afro-pop and RnB singer/songwriter, Ammara Brown.
- Kenya’s Filah Tuju, renowned as a performer, voice coach, writer and producer and founder of a Music Academy.
- Ghana’s Trigmatic, a multi-award winner rapper, composer and songwriter
- South Africa’s Vusi Nova, the best afro album and best male awards winner.
- Nigeria’s Evelle, a previous Nigeria Idols winner, singer and collaborator
Voices season two launches on Sunday, 11 April 2021 with the following acts
- Simulcast on Mzansi Magic and Mzansi Wethu in South Africa at 17:00
- Zambezi Magic in Zimbabwe at 1700h
- Africa Magic in Ghana at 1500h
- Maisha Magic East in Kenya at 1800h
- Africa Magic in Nigeria at 1600h
“Music is universal language and passion for millions of Africans. As one of Africa’s most respected brands, Old Mutual has, for many years, championed positive futures for all our stakeholders. One of the sectors benefitting from Old Mutual’s ongoing support is musicians and performers. We encourage them to learn career management skills as well as the personal financial skills they need to survive and succeed in a highly competitive business,” says Carol Kipsanai, Group Head of Marketing and Communications – UAP Old Mutual.