Super Nyota a conveyor belt for Bongo Flava

Dar es Salaam. The Tigo Fiesta is a show that draws attentions from thousands of revellers for it’s a moment to savor as the youthful fans get to meet their idols.

To the teenage fans, it is a once in a lifetime opportunity, one that they can’t miss whereas for the artistes who can hardly manage the costs of organizing a countrywide tour, this is just the place to be.

As the show runs across the country, a parallel talent search contest called Super Nyota is another attraction that brings hundreds of youth who believe they have what it takes to succeed musically.

Armed with the belief that they are talented enough to become the next big thing in the industry, the young women and men brave the long queues to be tested by the judges.

Unlike other searches where it is the cash prize that is the main motivation to the contestants, here it is the opportunity of performing at the finale which is the attraction to most youth

Last weekend in Mwanza Fatuma Msafiri emerged winner and therefore qualifying to perform at the grand finale in Dar es Salaam, a show that attracts the best artistes both local and international.

She braved it all beating a contest from mostly male contestants who dominated the Top Four to take home the crown.

The rather excited Fatuma was at a loss of words and all she is looking for is the final day, one that she termed as a day of reckoning.

And as the judges admit, it was a difficult decision to make, one that could have gone anywhere that evening but it had to come to some of the little details to decide the winner.

At a time when talent search shows aren’t doing that well across the region Super Nyota remains as one of those that have stood the taste of time.

According to organisers the only reason why they came up with the Super Nyota contest was because they realised that stars have to be nurtured and the only way to do that was with a talent search.

Though not many have made it to the top, their products such as Ney Lee, Rachel, Young Killer and most recently Ruby have all become a sensation in the industry with a string of hits.

They believe it is in line with the objectives of the Fiesta festival which has in the past become a career launch pad for many artistes who would have rather struggled to make it.

According to Joseph Kusaga the managing director of Clouds Media Group, the festival was founded with the objective of promoting local content and to him it is a celebration of how far local music has come especially the Bongo Flava genre.

“Our objective in the beginning after we set up the Mawingu studios and later the radio station was to promote our home grown artistes, therefore this provides a platform for us to scout for talent,” he told the Beat in an earlier interview.

He adds: We started off well, though we are yet to reach the whole country, through Fiesta we have managed to bring several artistes to the limelight.

Though the talent search was only a later addition to Fiesta extravaganza Kusaga says the artistes who grace the final show should have every reason to succeed thereafter.

With 11 stops to go, the search is proving to be one of a kind as hundreds of young people show up, this weekend the search goes to Kigoma and Tabora.