Rwandans have, in the past, been known for their good performances in regional music competitions. Following his Tusker Project Fame 2009 and All Stars 2012 wins, Alpha Rwirangira is among the names that can be easily recognised in East Africa’s music competitions. On September 8, the theatre auditions of the East Africa Got Talent (EAGT) show came to an end, and saw 17 Rwandan acts with 1 golden buzzer, making the cut. The EAGT show is conducted in two stages; the pre-eliminatory auditions, and the theatre auditions. Following the just concluded theatre auditions, the judges will pick 14 best acts in addition to the 4 golden buzzer earned acts to make it to the semifinals. Fidele Fle also got a thumbs up from the judges. From all the 17 Rwandan acts that passed, the judges will have to choose the best to earn a spot in the 14 best acts slots. The semifinals will take place on September 15, live on RTV, Citizen, Clouds TV and NBS. The audience will also be allowed to vote for their favourite contestants via SMS on lines, which are to be communicated during the show. To give them a chance, “vote as much as you can, Lee Ndayisaba, one of the organisers of EAGT said. Recap of Rwandans best act Being the first Rwandan to get a ‘Yes’ from the judges, Fidele Fle, 37, with his love sorrow “ne me quitte pas” track, got four ‘Yeses’ with Jeff Koinange, the Kenyan judge, saying: Incroyable! Peace Hosiyana won herself a golden buzzer from judge Makeda Mahadeo. The judges also did enjoy the Rwandan traditional dance, and it was evident in their four ‘Yeses’ for the Uruyange traditional girls’ dance group, after putting up an incredible show with big smiles on their faces. Alongside, their brothers, Intayoberana boys’ dance troupe. The youngsters showcased Rwandan culture in intore dance and they too earned themselves four ‘Yeses.’ With the dance card bringing luck to the Rwandan side, Blessed Spy Dance crew managed to get the crowd to chant Igweee with their energetic dancing choreography. They immediately got four yes taking them to the next round. Urban dance crew, in their afrostyle dance, and KDP dance group with their Kinya-modern mash up dance style were also the benefactors of this card. When the crowd chants Igwee the performer is sure that his/her act reached the bottom of the audience’s hearts. Donning white shirts and blue shorts, Kaza Kids fused African and modern genre, as well as the energetic coupé-décalé dance within their three-minute performance, and passed through to the next round, followed by Himbaza drummers, who despite causing a saga with the Burundian government, wowed the audience with their Burundian drums. Vanessa Mdee, the Tanzanian judge, loved their rhythms and electrifying performances, saying that drums hold a huge role in the African ancient culture. Among other Rwandan contestants that got four “Yeses”, were Evelyn Umutoniwase, aka African snake girl, a contortionist, while Claudien Kwizera, with his kung fu moves, made everyone believe they were watching a Chinese movie. Elisha The Gift, 26, with his kinya-groove song dubbed, Nyiramwiza, in his attractive voice, making all the ladies in the house scream, also went through to the next round together, with Delphine Imanishimwe, after belting out the rendition of Rihanna’s Stay feat Mikky Ekko, in her outstanding voice. Benefiting from the golden buzzer, Peace Hosiana, 23, was sent through to the semifinals by Makeda Mahadeo, after the Rwandan judge “felt that she deserved a second chance.” This came as a result of receiving two “Nos” from the other judges, which automatically disqualifies the performer, from singing the low notes perfectly but failing the high notes. She could have not made it through to the next round if not for Makeda hitting the golden buzzer to come to her rescue. However, some of the Rwandan acts did not amaze all the judges and got three ‘Yeses’ as a result. Those acts include, the Rwandan acrobats with their juggling, rap song performance by Taykun, hip hop bone breaking by Ngabo Elvis, and head balancing by unit versions. The question stands, “Will a Rwandan do it again, and bring home $50,000 grand prize, (Rwf46, 094,500)?” editor@newtimesrwanda.com
