Jaenique Swartz
The Next Ma/Gaisa Star season 2 winner Laurencious Nanub AKA Larcos wished all participants well for the new season of the competition which was launched at the NTN on Tuesday.
Nanub reminded them that it will not be easy, but they should have the mindset of becoming the next star.
“But if you want to become a star, you have to do a lot of things out of your comfort zone, and should not get comfortable. Belief that you will make it; belief in yourself. Start pushing, and never give up. Don’t focus on your failures,” he advised.
The next Ma/Gaisa Star is aimed at providing a platform for young musicians to showcase their skills and kick-start their professional careers.
To this effect, Nanub has been invited to perform at the Nama Fees in South Africa at the end of this month.
Organiser Stella Naruses of SAN Welwitschia Music Production stressed the importance of the competition, saying it aims to take a Namibian genre outside the borders because currently there is no genre distinctly Namibian internationally.
“Apart from that, music brings people together, no matter the language. We will also be mixing languages for all to understand, and hope to have English sub-titles
when the episodes are aired on television,” she noted.
Entries
Naruses then gave a breakdown of how entries will work.
“All you have to do is take a landscape video of yourself where you are singing to any Ma /Gaisa song or beat of your choice. The video must be no longer than 1-2 minutes. WhatsApp the video to the number 0817076838. Please make sure that all the vocals are that of the entry participants only.”
Entry is free, and only Namibian citizens can participate.
The closing date for video submissions is 15 November 2023.
The first 12 episodes will be broadcast on NBC this December, with the semi-acoustic episode, as well as the finale planned for the MTC Dome in Swakopmund.
Sponsorship
Naruses stated that they would like to host it at The Dome, but will require sponsorships to make it happen.
Three other sponsors have already come on board – NBC, NTN and the National Arts Council of Namibia – for the next three years, for which she is grateful.
She added that apart from the venue, many other costs need to be covered, which include backing dancers, instrumentalists, equipment hire, guest artists, fashion designers for the presenters’ outfits, graphic designers, script writers as well as judges, amongst others.
The highly-anticipated show will also yield employment for 150 people.
“We need approximately N$1.2 million to make it the best show ever, better than the two previous auditions, which we funded ourselves with meagre resources,” she continued.
Master of ceremonies Che Ulenga highlighted how important funding is, saying previous contestants have been heavily disadvantaged as they oversaw their own production. However, sponsorships would assist the participants to have their own background dancers and added musical instruments.