Galaxy of stars to converge on Tsholofelo Park

CHIPPA LEGODIMO
Correspondent | Thursday June 19, 2008 00:00

 

After weeks of searching for the 'finest' local artists the judges of the competition finally completed their job in Maun last week and gearing up for the finals where only four musicians will be crowned champions.

While the tight competition is likely to have adrenalin running down the veins of the competing artistes, music lovers are in for a treat as everybody will be trying to prove that he or she is worthy of the crown and the P5, 000 prize money.Since it started a month ago, this competition has proved that the gap between the 'big guns' and the minnows is so small that those who are through to the finals will have anxious moments waiting for the results.

Who would have thought Odirile 'Vee' Sentho would not be part of the big day? It was Dikakapa, who many wrote off with the departure of lead vocalist Mponang 'Gong Master' Ketshabile that finally won the Back track category in Gaborone, brushing aside the likes of Vee to sail through to the finals.

It is an open secret that Vomit vs Diparo's Tsaya thobane is among the big hits recently released but he and Astley Gops could not stand in the way of muscular Dikakapa.

Those who will be competing for the Back track category are Dikakapa, Stompie (who won in Kang), Vusi (from Francistown) as well as Chris Manto 7, who beat other competitors from the Maun region to get a place in the finals.

Captain Dira, under the tutelage of Vee, has been a hot property in the local market recently but his performance did not impress the judges the same way that an unknown Mpho Kalaamotho, who goes by the stage name VS, did.  VS was selected amongst hopefuls in Gaborone and he faces stiff competition against Mad Doggs, who were selected in Kang, Marabele Cultural Group (from Francistown), as well as disco sensation Mercy, who got the judges' nod in Maun. She is a former back-up singer with Vomit who lead the popular Matshidiso track. In the live performance category, jazz queen Puna Gabasiame managed to squeeze through to the finals beating other hopefuls in Gaborne two weeks ago.

As expected, the Gaborone show had attracted the big stars and it was never going to be easy for the judges to get the winner. However, silky voiced Gabasiame proved her worth and will now to be at her best to produce the same performance on July 19 if she is to outclass the likes of Getto Luv from Francistown, Mofufutso from Kang as well as kwasa kwasa star Jeff Matheatau, who was selected in Maun. BOMU public relations officer Joel Keitumele said they plan to call a press conference next week to brief journalists on the Popular Artist category, which is to be decided by music and art writers.

Keitumele also said that although the finals will be held on July 19, the prize giving ceremony will only be held three days later.

He appreciated the good work done by the event managers, Kiss Africa, a local event promotion and management company, which has been involved in the running of regional competitions. 'For something that was decided in such a short time, I believe they did a good job and we had anticipated many problems in view of the fact that this thing was only planned after President Ian Khama took office in April and it was to start almost immediately,' he said. He also applauded all the artistes who took part in the competition saying: 'They responded very well to our calls and I believe that those who are through to the finals are not there by default. Even those who did not make it were fantastic and it was because of the stiff competition they provided that the judges ended with the good list of finalists that we have now.'