The Voice South Africa is a South African reality television show that aims at finding new singing talents. Modeled after the American version of the program, The Voice South Africa focuses on finding something new, quite different from the normal or daily voice in music from its contestants. It also seeks to bring a unique and talented voice into the music scene.
During its introduction in 2016, the show got South African media buzzing with excitement as something different from the normal TV show is coming on air. The Voice South Africa has been airing on M-Net since its inception and has become one of the most popular talent hunt shows in South Africa, with others being SA Got Talent and Idols South Africa.
Brief History and How The Voice Come About
The original version of the show began in Holland in 2010. Created by a TV producer named John de Mol, the show began as The Voice of Holland or TVOH, and it was aired on RTL4. The idea of the show as it was created and as it remained, has been to get quality singing talents through blind auditioning.
Since its creation in 2010, the show has been adapted and created in different countries across the globe. It was started in the United States in 2010 and the following year, Holos Krayiny was launched as its Ukrainian version. Others including The Voice Portugal, The Voice Van Vlaanderen in Belgium, The Voice UK, and The Voice Germany, also began in the same year.
More so, the show began in Mexico, Romania, Turkey, and Australia in 2011 and in the year that followed, it was adopted in Argentina, Spain, the Republic of Ireland, Canada, France, China, and Brazil. In the same year, it began in Russia and Colombia. It went to Indonesia, the Philippines, and Greece in 2013, and proceeded to India, Vietnam, Azerbaijan and Ice land in 2015. However, in 2016, M-Net started a South African version of the show, which has been ongoing to date.
The Voice South Africa (The Voice SA)
Just like it is found in other countries, The Voice South Africa is indifferent when it comes to its structure, auditions, and competitions. The show began in 2016 and has since garnered a huge audience in SA, all thanks to its wide coverage by TV, radio, and South African Newspapers. The first season of the show aired between January 31st and May 22nd, 2016, on M-Net. There are 16 contestants and four coaches/judges, and in the end, there will be only one winner. While the show has become one of the top talent hunts shows out there, learn more about the structure, judges and past winners below.
The Structure of the Show – Auditions
The show has three main stages; the auditions, battle rounds and live shows. The auditioning stage will have participants sing to coaches whose backs are turned. If a coach likes the singing of a participant, he will press a button and the coaches will turn round to face the singer. If any coach doesn’t turn round, however, the participant cannot go through. Each coach will have a number of participants in his team.
The second stage, which is the battle round has artists slug it out two at a time, after being mentored by their respective coaches. It is noteworthy that these coaches usually have four aspiring stars on their team. They sing in front of a studio audience and the coaches decide who goes through to the next stage. When they have presented their best songs, the winners of this battle round would then proceed to the next stage, live performance.
While on the live stage, these contestants would perform live not just in front of their coaches, but also a huge live audience, as well as millions of TV viewers around the country. During the final phase of the competition, the top contestants from each team compete against each other. However, the TV audience will vote to save one from each team, while the coach will decide on live television who they want to save and who will be dropped. In the next round, the audience chooses between the two artists left on each team, likewise the coaches.
In the end, each coach will have his/her best contestant left standing to compete in the finals, singing an original song. From the last four, one contestant will be named The Voice and will receive the grand prize of a recording contract.
Who are The Judges?
Since its inception, the show has witnessed a change in its original coaching panel. Although the original coaching crew consists of professional music stars such as Kahn Morbee, Karen Zoid, Bobby van Jaarsveld, and Lira, the first three left the show at the end of the second season. And the coaching crew now consists of the following:
Lira
Although she is named Lerato Molapo, it is by her professional name, Lira that she has come to be known. Lira is a South African singer, best known for her songs which cut across Afro-soul, Jazz, R&B, and funk music genres. She began her career in 2003 and has so far released over seven chart-topping albums and several singles. The singer was among the first judges on The Voice South Africa and she has been consistent since the first season.
Riana Nel
Riana Nel is a Namibian singer, songwriter, and actress, best known for her contemporary, Christian, pop, and country songs. Although she was born in Windhoek, Namibia, the singer relocated to Pretoria, South Africa, where her music career kicked off in 2001. Currently, she has over eight music albums to her credit, some of which have topped several SA music charts. She became one of the judges on The Voice South Africa in 2019.
Riky Rick
Also one of the judges on the singing talent show, Riky Rick is a South African rapper, record producer, songwriter, and actor. Although he was born as Rikhado Makhado, he is widely known by his stage name, Riky Rick. Known for his affluent signature style and his love for the local fashion scene, Riky is the founder of the popular record label called Cotton Club Records. He began his music career in 2014 and has so far released one studio album, two EPs, and two mixtapes. Prior to the third season of The Voice SA, the rapper was named one of the judges on the show.
Francois Van Coke
Francois Badenhorst otherwise known as Francis Van Coke is a South African rock musician and songwriter. He is famously known as the lead vocalist of the legendary South African rock bands Van Coke Kartel and Fokoofpolisiekar. Starting his career in 2003, the rock star along with his group has several hit albums to their credit. He has equally embarked on a solo career and has released two studio albums as well as several Eps, and hit singles. He joined The Voice South Africa in 2019 after he was named as one of the judges.
See Also: Ancient And Modern: 100 Greatest South African Songs Of All Time
Meet The Past Winners of The Voice South Africa
Having completed three successful seasons, The Voice SA has witnessed over forty-eight contestants, out of which are three winners.
Season One – Richard Stirton
Richard Stirton is a South African music artist from Cape Town. He joined the show as one of the contestants during the first season and was coached by Khan Morbee. During the competition, Richard wangled his way through to emerge as the winner, with Gavin Edwards and Jeremy Olivier as runner-ups. He won the show at the age of 22 and since then, he has gone on to become a reckoning force in the South African music industry. Stirton has released one music album (Middle Ground – 2016), as well as many hit singles. Some of his popular singles include What Tears Me The Most, Naked, and Defeated, etc.
Season Two – Craig Lucas
After the first season of the show came to an end in 2016, The Voice SA inspired many aspiring musicians to break out of their comfort zones. However, Craig Lucas a South African joined the band, thus emerging winner of the second season in 2017. Craig, who is a native of Elsiesrivier in Cape Town, is a graduate in Economics and Politics at the University of Cape Town. He started singing since his childhood, a passion that was turned into a lifelong career in 2017. Coached by Kahn Morbee, Lucas finished first with Josh Ansley and Samantha Leonard as runner-ups. So far, he has released an album titled Restless and several singles.
Season 3 – Tasché Burger
Tasché Burger is a South African part-time waitress from Brackenfell and the winner of the 2019 edition of The Voice SA. Coached by Francis Van Coke, Burger made history as the youngest and the first-ever woman to win the singing competition at the age of 19. She started singing since her childhood days and during her early days in college, she enrolled in singing classes. Finishing top, she was followed by Sone Joubert and Siki Jo-An Qwazi.
