Hopefuls make themselves heard
DURBAN hopefuls went through the stringent audition round for The Voice South Africa at Kings Park Stadium yesterday.
They had to sing for two discerning judges in a preliminary round, in which producers sift the wheat from the chaff.
The Voice South Africa has been on the road for the past two weeks, conducting auditions across the country. Durban was the penultimate stop before the producers decide who will appear on the main show.
Durban’s aspiring stars weren’t shy to show off the city’s unique flavour.
Early yesterday morning, before auditions began, Kat Zungu and Meredith Stephenson were singing quietly, getting in tune. Then Tas Johnstone interrupted. “Sing Bohemian Rhapsody, dude!” she shouted.
Which they did, others joining in.
About 200 hopefuls turned up, a range of ages.
Sixty-four-year-old Kenty Ramkissoon was one of the first contestants to go in.
As a performer with his band, Evil Eye, he is no stranger to the stage.
“It was quite tense and it’s not easy. The judges know what they are looking for. We tried our best.”
He sang Wonderful World, by Louis Armstrong.
“They’re looking for very professional singers. It can allow people from KZN to go up a level.”
But Ramkissoon and the others still have to wait to hear their fate. Contestants weren’t told yesterday if they had made the cut for the main show.
Durban folk showed producers last year that they were major players.
“We had very good singers from here last year,” said Darren Hayward, series director.
“Last year we found some really great performers on the show.”
Nationwide, 105 vocalists will be chosen to perform in the main show.
The audition rounds are not televised, and contestants do not perform in front of the show’s main judges.
The audition round will end in Johannesburg this weekend.
In the first round of the main show, contestants go through blind auditions.
This is when the judges face away from them and turn around to face them only when absolutely wowed by the singer’s voice.
The series judges are singers Lira, Bobby van Jaarsveld, Karen Zoid, and the Parlotones’ Khan Morbee.