East African Breweries Ltd. (EABL) through its flagship brand Tusker Lager is continuing its sponsorship of the show for the third year running with a more than Kshs 200million investment.
Auditions for the regions biggest musical talent reality show Tusker Project Fame 3 will kick off concurrently this weekend in Kenya Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda.
The company’s Regional Marketing Manager for brand Tusker, Mr. Mburu Karanja confirmed that the expanded reality show will now cover the four East African countries as part of the firm’s bid to tap and nurture regional musical talent.
“That we have immense musical talent in the region is not in doubt judging from the previous seasons of this show,” Mr. Karanja said.
He further added: “East African Breweries is investing over Kshs. 200 million in this initiative aimed to seek and develop music talent in the region in line with the company’s commitment to nurture and showcase world-class talent and performance from the region.”
While the beverages manufacturer will finance the project, production house Endemol will handle the TV production aspects in conjunction with local experts.
“The Tusker Project Fame journey is an exciting one which not only sees the nurturing of music talent, but also allows for transfer of skills in reality show production,” added Mr. Karanja. “We seek to ensure that Kenyan artisans are involved in all aspects of bringing this show to life, a process which will undoubtedly result in greater exposure of world class skills to our people.”
At the end of the auditioning phase, a total of 12 contestants representing the four countries will move into the Tusker Academy, a music school where for 8 weeks they will be exposed to the best in music vocal, song-writing and performance coaching to fully nurture their talent. The show’s fans will be able to participate in choosing East Africa’s next music star through SMS voting once the show starts.
Through weekly evictions, the 12 contestants will be whittled down to 1 talented winner who will, in October, be crowned the Tusker Project Fame 3 winner. Karanja further stated that “we are maintaining the top prize for the winner comprising of Kshs. 5,000,000/- in prize money and a recording deal with Gallo Records, among a host of other goodies.”
The Tusker Project Fame weekly nomination shows have been characterized by remarkable musical performances, an aspect that the organisers promise to continue this year. “Not only is this show getting bigger, it is also getting better and our viewers can expect thrilling entertainment throughout the season” said Mr. Karanja.
Over the years, Tusker Project Fame has successfully nurtured home-grown talent with the 1st season’s winner, Kenya’s Valerie Kimani, having released a 13-track album that received rave reviews from her fans across the region.
Last year’s winner, Esther Nabaasa from Uganda, is currently finalizing on the release of two singles with a full album to follow soon.
To qualify for the show, applicants must be fluent in English besides having a passion and talent for singing.
Application forms detailing eligibility criteria can be obtained from various retail and entertainment outlets across the region and will also be available at the audition venues.
About Tusker Project Fame
Tusker Project Fame, East Africa’s first ever locally produced reality television show, has been described as a marriage between voyeuristic Big Brother and musical phenomenon Idols, with a thrilling dose of survivor-style voting. The program seeks to discover raw, untapped musical talent in East Africa that can be groomed to stardom, through a series of regional auditions. The chosen contestants are then enrolled into the Tusker Academy where they are given expert training in every aspect of the music business – from performance and song writing to behind-the-scenes preparation and a personal advisor. More than just a talent competition, Tusker Project Fame allows viewers a unique opportunity to follow, day by day, the behind the scenes progress of the chosen contestants as they are groomed for success. The outcomes of the later stages of this competition are determined by public voting by sms – contestants are eliminated on a weekly basis with the lucky winner walking away with cash prizes and a recording contract from Gallo records of South Africa.