Funsho Arogundade

Renowned American vocalist and songwriter, Keri Hilson, is set to serves as judge/mentor as the Season 2 of Airtel Trace Music Star, the biggest pan-African talent search competition, commenced in Nigeria.

Announcing the 2016 edition of the music talent show at a press launch held Wednesday at the Maison Fahrenheit, Victoria Island, Lagos, Ahmad Mokhles, Chief Commercial Officer, Airtel Nigeria, the lead sponsor, stated that Airtel is pleased to partner with TRACE to bring excitement, joy and laughter to millions of Nigerians through TRACE platform and also empower talented Nigerians and African youth with a credible ladder to stardom.

“The sponsorship of TRACE is yet another eloquent testimony of Airtel’s commitment to empowering young, talented Nigerians. As Nigeria’s smartphone network of choice, we are always excited to enter partnerships that connect the Nigerian youth to their dreams and we are very excited about the opportunities that TRACE presents,” he said.

Also speaking at the event, Sam Onyemelukwe, Managing Director, Trace Music Star, Nigeria and Anglo-African countries, noted that the Season 1 of the contest recorded 2.3 million calls and they expected the second season to be bigger.

He explained that the mobile phone based method of entering into the competition, the power of technology, enables many Nigerians to participate in the show, thereby eliminating barriers of distances, cost and stress of travelling in order to enter for the contest.

The TRACE boss added that the lines will soon be opened for people to send in their entries.
This year’s Airtel TRACE Music Star competition will see Niger join Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zambia as the newest African territory to enter the competition.

The best singing talent in each territory will be identified, rewarded and put in competition to run for the title of best African music talent.

To participate, contestants will need to dial 5678 from their mobile phones, record their songs to stand a chance to become the next big music star in Africa.

According to organisers, the grand finale will be held in Lagos, Nigeria in June this year. The grand prize comprises a mentorship programme with multi-award winning American singer-songwriter Keri Hilson in Atlanta.

The winner will not only star in their own music video alongside Keri Hilson; he/she will get an opportunity to record a duet with the “Knock You Down” songstress, as well as receive a signed contract with a major music label and worldwide media exposure through various TRACE’s platforms.

The Airtel TRACE Music Star (ATMS) talent search is the biggest music competition to ever take place in Africa.

The number of contestants surpassed European and American talent shows such as “The Voice” and “Idols”.

The mobile phone based ATMS talent search contest also won the “Best Pan-African Initiative” accolade at the prestigious AfricaCom Awards held in Cape Town, South Africa.

The maiden winner of the competition was Mayunga. He was crowned Airtel TRACE Music star winner by megastar Akon, won a record deal as well as promotion for a total value exceeding $500,000 and a mentorship programme with Akon.

His first track“Nice Couple”reached number one on all major radio and TV charts in his home country of Tanzania.

A few months ago, he was in Los Angeles with Akon to record his second single “Please Don’t Go Away” and shoot the music video.