• Sarz, Andre Vibez, P-Prime, Puffy Tee emerge as judges
Nigeria’s premier production company, Ultima Studios, has unveiled a trailblazing music reality show, Next Afrobeats Star (NAS), which is set to redefine the landscape of the global music industry with its groundbreaking approach to discovering and nurturing talent.
Ahead of the maiden edition of the highly anticipated Next Afrobeats Star, top producers like Osabuohien Osaretin aka Sarz, Peace Oredope aka P-Prime, Oluwajuwonlo Iledare aka Puffy-Tee, and Alexandre Uwaifo aka Andre Vibez have been announced to take centre stage as lead judges at the show.
Produced by Ultima Studios, renowned for its iconic television franchises such as the capacity-building Lions Den, brain-teasing Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and star-making Project Fame, Next Afrobeats Star is set to revolutionise talent assessment through its approach of recruiting producers instead of the traditional singers.
Commencing live broadcasts in April and culminating in a grand finale on June 2, 2024, the show has initiated preliminary tasks involving the collection and review of entries.
Aspiring participants are urged to join the competition for a chance to secure a recording contract, car and a cash prize. They can enter by utilising a unique code to access a selection of beats, enabling them to craft a cover version that showcases their creativity.
According to the CEO of Ultima Studio, Femi Ayeni, the inaugural edition is expected to attract over 400,000 entries globally, marking the start of a new wave of Afrobeats talent positioned to sustainably shape the narrative of Afrobeats history.
Ayeni further asserted that Next Afrobeats Star was an avenue to reduce brain drain from the country and encourage economic diversification.
“I have passion for young people. We don’t want the burden of leaving this place worse than how we met it. Most of us are stuck here without being able to migrate. I realise that Afrobeats has become very huge. We did Project Fame for nine years, and we made a lot of R&B stars, so why not Afrobeats stars that we now export out of Nigeria and earn foreign exchange?The foreign exchange can only improve if we diversify our exports and substitute our imports. So, instead of buying foreign music, we are now exporting Nigerian music,” he declared.
On their parts, the judges have expressed optimism for the show’s outcomes. Sarz said: “I am a strong believer of collaboration and amplification. And I believe this platform will help amplify everything. Every one of us (producers) has been doing this on the corner to increase the pipeline of Afrobeats artistes coming out of the continent.”
Andre Vibez expressed zeal for the project: “This was an easy sell for me to be part of. I like the idea of having breakout Afrobeats stars do great things on the world stage. I had to be a part of this. I am excited and looking forward to breaking out more stars.”
Puffy Tee explained that Next Afrobeats Stars was a timely intervention. “I have been waiting for when we would have a platform like this and take advantage of it. Afrobeats has taken over, there is no roadblock right now, and for the ones that had existed, it has leapt over it,” he noted.
Starting January 2024, aspiring musicians are encouraged to text NAS to 13013 from an MTN line to receive a unique code to access the registration portal at www.nextafrobeatsstar.com. On the portal, the participant will download a music track of choice, as it is available, make music to it, and re-upload it on the NAS website.
Participants can text several times to download as many instrumentals and give the judges several options to choose from, thereby increasing their chances.