3 Malawian stars battle for victory in Africa’s ground-breaking ‘The Voice Africa’ competition

* Awilo Longomba represented by Esther Chitheka-Lewis

* Locko represented by Taonga Kanthungo

* Lady Jaydee represented by Nathan Chalu

By Duncan Mlanjira

Three Malawi nationals, Esther Chitheka-Lewis; Nathan Chalu and Taonga Kanthungo have successfully made it through to the highly contested ‘Battle Round’ stage of Africa’s prestigious top vocal talent TV showcase, The Voice Africa.

Thus Airtel Malawi, the leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services, is calling on music fans to get behind the nation’s aspiring stars currently competing from June 4.

A statement from Airtel said in the battle rounds, each of the four celebrity coaches went in with a team of 14 talents, with Awilo Longomba represented by Esther Chitheka-Lewis, Locko represented by Taonga Kanthungo and Lady Jaydee represented by Nathan Chalu.

The coaches will select individuals from their groups to compete against each other by performing the same song and they will need to deliver a stand-out performance and display their superstar quality for their coach to advance them to the next round, known as the ‘Knockouts’.

It further said the show will go on a one-week intermission on July 3 and return hotter than ever on July 9 with the Knockouts, and this stage of the competition will feature a reduced pool of 32 talents from across the continent — who will compete head-to-head to impress their coaches for a chance to stay in the show.

The 24 talents from the knockouts will go into the lives, a stage which will see audiences voting to save their favorite talents and the grand finale will be broadcast on September 24, and the winner of The Voice Africa walking away with the grand prize of US$100,000 and a recording contract with EmPawa music.

The Voice Africa premiered in March 2023 across 14 markets in Africa, and Airtel Africa is the title sponsor of the show. Africa’s version of the global award-winning talent show, The Voice, is available on Airtel TV and free to air TV stations.

The Voice Africa has already attracted considerable buzz and excitement, as a launchpad for the next generation of Africa’s musical talent.

Airtel Malawi Marketing Director, Thokozani Kamkondo-Sande is quoted as saying: “We are so proud to have three of our country’s exceptional vocal talents proceed to the Battles stage in the competition where they have an incredible opportunity to be crowned The Voice Africa.

“We are thrilled to provide a platform for them to showcase their talent with the world and urge the people of Malawi to support them on their journey as they battle in Africa’s ultimate vocal showdown.”

To catch the latest action and entertainment from The Voice Africa, viewers are encouraged to tune in exclusively to Airtel TV or Zodiak TV every Sunday from 08:00-09:00hrs.

The Malawi qualifiers for the singing competition, that seeks to grow talent in Africa, were launched in November last year joining 14 other Airtel Africa’s countries.

At the glamorous launch at Sunbird Mount Soche in Blantyre, Airtel Malawi’s Norah Chavula-Chirwa said the competition is aimed at transforming people’s lives to unlock the potential for them to grow.

“The Voice Africa gives us an incredible platform to help discover and champion the musical talents of young Africans, enabling them to achieve their full potential,” she said.

The Voice Africa website says the Voice Africa is the latest initiative from Airtel Africa designed to support the continent’s most valuable asset — the youths.

Over the years, Airtel Africa has sponsored MTV Africa Music Awards, the Zain Africa Challenge, which brought university students together in a quiz contest, and the Airtel Rising Stars, a football tournament for Under-15 boys and girls. 

Headquartered in Lilongwe, Airtel Malawi Plc is the country’s leading mobile service provider offering 4G/LTE, 2G & 3G wireless networks and and high speed fixed broadband internet services.

Airtel Malawi was established in Malawi in 2010 as a subsidiary of Airtel Africa with operations in 14 countries, primarily in East, Central and West Africa.

Airtel Africa offers an integrated suite of telecommunications solutions to its subscribers, including mobile voice and data services as well as mobile money services both nationally and internationally.

The Group aims to continue providing a simple and intuitive customer experience through streamlined customer journeys.