Voice Africa   |30 May 2023

Five Seychellois participants reach battle round

Five out of eight Seychellois participants in the Blind Audition of the Voice Africa have made it through to the next round, which is the battle round.

The five contestants include Clive Camille, Daniel Prosper, Vicky Emile, Lindsay Hermitte and Enrico Gonzales.

In an interview with Seychelles NATION, the head of public relations and communications at Airtel, Jude Valmont, said that he got the chance to meet with all the participants upon their return and he observed that their spirits were high and their enthusiasm to be part of such an event showed in their tone of voice.

“As we know it is the first time that a group of people goes to participate in a show of this magnitude and of this level and also it is the first time that Voice Africa is being held. They were very appreciative of the experience but of course not all had the same experience,” he said.

He added that this collective experience has allowed them to see the opportunity that Airtel is providing and that this is in line with their new business vision ‘A reason to imagine’.

“The ‘reason to imagine’ is the platform and we are using this platform to push people forward especially the youth of Africa and that is testimony that we are moving towards,” he said.

Airtel has also registered a boost in its Airtel TV application downloads; a boost which Mr Valmont said shows Seychellois’ great support towards Airtel and the eight participants.

“It really shows that Seychelles is proud to be a part of the Voice Africa and that we want to see a Seychellois taking home the win,” he said.

Despite huge positive publicity about the competition, there were however few complaints from the participants in regards to the preparation of the event, the long hours of waiting, and bad planning.

Mr Valmont said it was very understandable to receive complaints as this event is being done for the first time for all Airtel established countries in Africa and it is a pilot project.

“It is completely normal to exit the country with certain expectations, however many things are different in other countries. It will be slower due to the sheer size of the event and number of participants, and it is all new to our talents and of course because of it being the first of its kind. Here at Airtel Seychelles we did all that was necessary by staying in contact everyday and providing support to our participants,” he said.

“Out of the 13 other countries, Seychelles is the only with five talents that got past the blind audition. They have done extremely well, all of them. Making Seychelles that much more proud. And lastly I would like to thank all of the Seychellois who are contributing in every way and urge them to stay tuned for the next part,” concluded Mr Valmont.

One of the participants who had a four chair turn is Clive Camille, who said the scene was very different from what he is usually used to as it was a professional production.

“There were many aspects that we were not accustomed to, such as hair and makeup, stylist and all,” he said.

Clive described the audition’s environment as very stressful, with heavy traffic while commuting.

He added that it was hard to adapt to the cuisine and the hours in Nigeria.

“I got called up for my audition at 4 in the morning, I arrived at the venue at 8 am the morning before,  and of course I was already tired. However when I got backstage it was announced that the judges were tired and that we need to come back in the morning, which of course I understood,” he explained.

He said that he had to repeat the whole process of commuting, hair and makeup, and waiting as well the next day, which made it that much more stressful.

“Honestly I was really stressed because everyone that went before me was not getting any chairs turned and I completely abandoned all hope of getting any chairs turned, so I told myself to just go perform and deliver. But when I started singing my earpiece was not working and I panicked for a moment however I maintained my composure and just remembered my training as I had practiced the song many times,” he said.

Clive said he was taken aback when he noticed that all four judges turned for him, which made him feel pressured causing him to forget the directions he was given before the beginning of the auditions.

“I got all the instruction to exit beforehand but with all the pressure I forgot all of them,” he said amusingly.

The next stage of the competition is the battle round, where contenders from the same group are pitched against each other, and ‘battle it out’, before being chosen by the judge.

Patsy Canaya