He may be celebrating incredible milestones that he achieved in music over the past decade, but Bruce Melodie looks even hungrier for more success in  his music career.

The singer is welcoming his music supporters at his official residency, Kigali Arena, as he looks forward to celebrate his 10-year anniversary of his music career in a concert dubbed '10 years of Bruce Melodie', on Saturday, November 6, .

 "I celebrate everything I achieved in the past decade. The breakthrough, the prizes, the challenges and the level of my music,” the singer told Weekender in an interview.

"It has not been an easy journey at all since I launched my music career but the fact that I was able to keep going against all odds is an incredible milestone that everyone would love to celebrate.

I started music as a passion. I was so passionate about it but I later realized that I am a product that can change my life,” the singer added.

PGSS changed his life

In 2012, Bruce Melodie made his debut on the Primus Guma Guma Super Star (PGGSS) stage only as a backup artiste for other contestants.

Bruce Melodie won the last season of Primus Guma Guma Superstar. Courtesy

The same year, the singer decided to stop backing up artists and launched his music career.

His passion for music saw him walk  miles on foot just to record a song. He knew that he had hidden talent and wanted to explore it. It eventually paid off.

Two years later, the singer found himself on the same stage vying for the Primus Guma Guma Superstar prize with the artists he used to back up.

 ‘Uzandabure’, which the singer says brought him to the limelight, and ‘Telefone’ were the two hit songs that earned him a nomination in the contest.

The prize was eventually won by the late rapper Jay Polly and Bruce Melodie came third.

But he never gave up, he returned a year later but emerged second behind Knowless Butera, before coming third again in the 2016 edition of the contest behind Urban Boys.

The singer skipped 2017 and returned in the contest in 2018 only to prove himself and everyone that his time had finally come, beating the grand prize to Christopher to become the last winner of the contest which eventually came to an end.

He was awarded with a cash prize of Rwf20 million, a sum that the singer admits was startup capital for him to elevate his music and give his fans something to look forward to.

"I was doing good music with limited resources, now that I got the money, I promise to give you the best music,” he said after winning the prize.

Since then, Bruce Melodie has kept his word and never stopped delivering to his fans’ expectations. Even during the covid-19 pandemic, when most artistes could not not keep up with the financial crisis, the singer kept dropping hits after hits.

The Primus Guma Guma Superstar contest, for him, opened doors and became a big platform for him to discover plenty of opportunities that he gained over the course.

"PGGSS opened my eyes that more opportunities were waiting for me. There was a time when I could not get money to go to a studio and record a song but the cash prize was startup capital for me to invest in my music,” the singer said.

"It was my turning point as I started to put into action what I had been planning for my music.  It was an incredible platform that I couldn’t afford to take lightly after years of hustle,” he added.

Acknowledging contributers

Bruce Melodie acknowledges everyone who contributed to his music journey. His song ‘Bado’, is a dedication to many who have been instrumental in his successful music journey.

Some familiar names that he mentions in the song include Richard Nsengumuremyi, the singer’s former manager while at the Super Level, who facilitated him to travel Kampala by plane, Joseph Mushyoma who pays him to perform at a number of his concerts and Mico the Best who helped him get management for his music.

Others include Uncle Austin, Producers Piano, Fazzo, Fayzo and his former manager Jean de Dieu Kabanda under whom he won PGGSS 8 before they parted ways in February this year to start a new chapter in music under Clouds Entertainment.

"The list is long. I know so many people contributed to my music to get to where I am now but the song was too short to mention all of them,” says the singer.

As he looks forward to celebrating 10 years in music, Bruce Melodie admits the journey would have been a total disappointment if it weren’t for his supporters, producers, directors, managers and fellow artistes who pushed him to work hard to remain at the top.

"I can’t thank the artistes enough, especially Gisa Cy’Inganzo and Christopher, whose competition pushed me to work day and night to become a better artist. I would never have felt good about myself if I had remained behind musically. Their competition really pushed me,” he said.

Hungry for more

Bruce Melodie’s music in the past decade was a rollercoaster and a journey gained from winning Salax Awards and Primus Guma Guma Super Star prizes to sharing big stages with music icons and signing mega-money deals as a brand ambassador.

The singer has got plenty of reasons to celebrate. However, the journey goes on and the singer looks pretty much hungrier to achieve more in his music career than he did in the past ten years.

"I can’t say the level of my music is so far but my feeling is that I deserve more than this. I want more and I still hope that, with the hard work, I will make it. I still have years to do music and the sky is not the limit,” he said.

"I am yet to become such a great musician that I dreamed to become one day but, as long as I am alive, I look forward to reaching to the level which is even way beyond where I am now,” he added.