Motueka singer Chris Black on way to meet Usher
Kiwi singer Chris Black is on his way to LA.
After a hectic week, Black, who is based in Motueka, was told yesterday he had made it to the top five of US megastar Usher’s music competition.
He’ll be flying to Los Angeles on Wednesday to meet the pop star.
The final five musicians will find out on two days later who takes home the top prize of US$1 million.
The competition winner will be based on votes from the public over a 48-hour period, which opened yesterday morning and will close tomorrow at 10am New Zealand time.
The votes have been reset and all the musicians are starting from scratch in a mad rush to gather as many votes as possible.
Black had been sitting second in the top seven before the competition judges decided on the top five.
Black said he ‘‘basically exploded’’ when he found out he’d be flying to LA.
‘‘I was so overwhelmed, I just can’t believe it, I’ve had so much support from New Zealand and Australia.
‘‘I just have way too many people to thank, I honestly didn’t expect this at all.’’
He’s bringing his mother with him on the trip and if possible, his best friend who got him to enter the competition.
In the final round of voting the ranking is hidden, so none of the contestants know where they’re sitting in the competition until the winner is announced through the Megastar app. The second placegetter receives US$25,000, third US$20,000, fourth US$15,000 and fifth US$10,000.
Black said he was trying to get his head around everything that had happened in the last week.
‘‘You can only dream about this kind of thing, now that it’s happening it’s kind of like, f***, excuse my French. I’m just so excited right now, I’m really nervous too.’’
Black said he had barely slept in the last several days.
‘‘I just know I have to try to get as many votes as I can but not being able to see where I’m sitting means I’ll sleep better.’’
His phone battery died ‘‘faster than it ever has in my whole life’’, because he refreshed the Megastar app every four minutes to see the votes.
‘‘I’m kind of looking forward to it all being over regardless of the results, so I can get back to real life.’’
To back Chris Black, download the Megastar app and click on his video to cast your vote.