After a heated vocal contest put up by Coach Yemi Alade’s team during the 15th Episode of The Voice Africa powered by Airtel, the recent episode saw 8 talents on Coach Locko’s team advance to the next phase of the competition.
Coach Locko is a Cameroonian singer, songwriter, and beatmaker and his real name is Charles Arthur Locko Samba. He is one of the biggest stars in Cameroon’s music industry and has been nominated for multiple awards including an MTV Africa Music Award for Listener’s Choice.
In the 16th episode that featured last weekend, 11th June 2023, Coach Locko created 7 duets to battle for a spot in the knockout phase of the contest.
Rwanda’s Linda Montez was saved from elimination when Coach Yemi Alade selected her to remain in the race after she won the duet battle when she competed with Madagascar’s Fabre Rakatozafy.
During the duet contest, Coaches have the option to save a contestant if they have been dropped by their original Coach.
Elizabeth Gitungo from Kenya advanced onto the next stage after defeating Dominique Balolet from Congo Brazzaville when they performed ‘Essence’ by Wizkid and Tem’s, Elizabeth was saved by Coach Locko, Jason Nwachukwu got a save from Coach Locko after battling Kenya’s Barbara Wanjiku in ‘Marvin Gaye’ by Charlie Puth. The audience was shocked when Coach Locko chose Syntyche over a known favorite, Enrico Gonzalez from Seychelles and Daniel Prosper from Madagascar seemed to have forgotten the lyrics of Fireboy’s ‘Bandana, while battling Roan Kerario which cost him the competition. The sixth battle of the night was between Vicky Emily from Seychelles and Flandryo Ramarotafika from Madagascar, Flandryo was selected to advance to the next stage.
The episode climaxed with a performance from Taonga Kanthungo from Malawi who was saved by Coach Locko thus moving on to the next round after a hearty contest with Lyndsay Hermite from Seychelles after they sang ‘Perfect’ by Pink.
The competition is set to get even more exciting for Ugandans as 4 talents from Uganda including, Desire Tusiimire, Ronnie Ssemujju, and Charles Ssekitoleko who are on Coach Awilo Longomba’s team and Sharon Kyolinakyo who is on Coach Jaydee’s team showcase their vocal abilities in the coming shows.
Building on the past success of musical contests like the Airtel Trace Star which is a platform that introduced artists like Bruno Kiggundu, stage name, Bruno K to Uganda’s entertainment scene, The Voice Africa also aims at providing a stage for Africans to showcase their versatile talent to be Africa’s next vocal talent.
The competition is sponsored by Airtel and comprises of talents from Airtel operating countries such as Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Madagascar, Chad, DRC, Malawi, Niger, Zambia, Seychelles, and Nigeria. Airtel as a brand is passionate about nurturing young talent by giving them a Reason to Imagine their biggest and wildest dreams.
Talents are battling for the ultimate prize of 100,000 US dollars, Airtel goodies, and a recording contract with Universal Studios, the leading music producers in the world. The next episode will air on Sunday at 8:00pm on cable TV, Free-T0-Air, Airtel TV, and on YouTube across the continent.