Rwanda’s participation in the ongoing musical reality show, The Voice Africa, has been nothing short of impressive. Jasmine Kibatega, who won the The Next Popstar season 1, is the latest Rwandan to feature in the competition, where she won in the battles auditions against Bienvenu Tshabambe of DR Congo. Their performances on Sunday, June 4, were impressive, with the duo performing Fireboy’s ‘Like I do’, which wowed the judges. Yemi Alade, Nigerian Afrobeats star who is a judge and coach in the singing competition, gave Jasmine a green light to progress to the next level, after she delivered an energetic performance that contained heavy vocals and smooth arrangements. Jasmine becomes the first Rwandan singer to progress to the knockout stage among five Rwandan musicians that made it off the blind audition of the competition. Theoneste Rwamukwaya, Belinda Uwase and Jason Nwachukwu will also perform during the next episodes of the Battles stage, and this presents an opportunity for Rwanda to have more contenders who will advance to the next stage of the competition. The overall winner of the competition will walk away with a grand prize of 100,000 US dollars. The Voice Africa connected by Airtel is a vocal musical reality show that airs every week, and it has attracted millions across Africa and the world over. Each of the 14 participating countries is excited to know who is representing them. The participating countries include Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Madagascar, Chad, DRC, Malawi, Niger, Zambia, Seychelles, and the host Nigeria. The weekly shows are hosted by Dakore Igbuson and Gaetano Kaggwa, while Yemi Alade, Awilo Longomba, Lady Jaydee, and Charles Locko Samba from Cameroon are coaching the talents who made it through the blind auditions. Once the show gets into the live performances, viewers will vote via different channels. The episodes will be broadcasted on different channels and YouTube across the continent from March to September 2023 when the winner will be announced. Rwanda’s representatives have so far put on commendable performances, and their fans are hopeful that they will make it to the finals and bring the trophy home.
