The Voice South Africa is back

Have you been blessed with the voice of an angel? Can you belt out big songs that elicit standing ovations? Can one hear a pin drop in the audience after you had hit those high notes with perfect pitch? Then it’s your time to shine!

M-Net (DStv Channel 101 and available to stream on DStv Now) confirmed today that The Voice South Africa will return for a third season in early 2019. For those who want to enter the popular feel-good singing contest with its iconic red chairs, there’s no time to waste: Entries opened today and will close in less than a month’s time – on Sunday, 30 September.

“We know that there are many nightingales, crooners, songbirds and rockers out there who are reacting to the news with songs of joy,” says M-Net’s Head of Publicity, Lani Lombard. “During the past couple of months, our M-Net social media accounts were inundated with direct messages from performers and fans with a burning desire to take part in The Voice South Africa. Now the moment has arrived, with the launch of a new season, and we can’t wait to meet the next group of talent whose vocal artistry will swirl the coaches’ chairs around and launch their musical journeys to stardom.”

Unlike many other television singing competitions, there is no upper age limit for The Voice South Africa. Solo singers and duos may enter and the vocalists can “gooi” it in the genre of their choice – from pop, rock and indie, folk and country to cabaret, opera and blues. The only musical prerequisite is a dazzling vocal quality. But do take note: to be eligible to enter you have to be a South African citizen over the age of 18 with no existing music contract.

This season, there is only one way to enter The Voice South Africa – via the online entry form on the M-Net website. Once you have logged on to mnet.tv/thevoice, you will go through a quick and easy online audition process. First, you will be asked to fill in a short application form with a few personal questions and thereafter you have to submit a 90-second long video showcasing your vocal talent.

“Don’t fret too much about the visual aspect of your video,” advises Lombard. “Remember, as the name of this worldwide television hit suggests, it’s all about The Voice. The selection team only wants to assess the quality, tone and timbre of your vocal chords and get a sense of your performance skills.”

For the video entry, you have to sing the verse and chorus of any song that will show off your vocal prowess. The song may be performed with or without accompaniment. Please note that live videos in front of audiences, music videos or produced singles and tracks will NOT be allowed. 

If your online application is successful, you will be contacted by The Voice SA team for a call-back, and who knows, before you can say “do re mi” you will be on The Voice SA stage performing at Season 3’s exhilarating Blind Auditions. That’s when The Voice SA coaches, four respected and well-known South African musos, listen to the singers, with their iconic red chairs turned away from the stage, basing their decisions purely on what they hear. In order to fill up their teams, the coaches need to turn their chairs and give themselves quite a testimonial to persuade their selected contestant to choose them as a mentor, if more than one coach turns around. From there the lucky coach will guide and train the talent through the various stages of the competition, hoping to produce the next Voice of South Africa.

The winner will receive a recording deal with Universal Music South Africa, as well as some fabulous prizes befitting a show of the calibre of The Voice SA.  Previous winners Richard Stirton and Craig Lucas have both carved out successful careers in the South African music industry with chart-topping singles, while many of the finalists also nabbed recording contracts and even SAMA nominations.

The Voice South Africa forms part of the massively successful international television singing competition franchise owned by Dutch company TALPA. Versions of the show are produced in more than 60 countries. 

M-Net will announce the names of the coaches and presenters for The Voice South Africa Season 3 in due course.