AFTER an exhilarating journey through nationwide auditions dubbed, the Trials, the Versus stage, and the Pick Me phase, organisers of Next Afrobeats Star (NAS), a bold new music reality competition designed to uncover and elevate the next generation of Afrobeats talent have finally unveiled the last 12 standing.
Declared opened in August this year, 300 participants were selected from the audition process. After rigorous drilling, the number of contestants was reduced to 48, who proceeded to the next stage.
Not done, the judges screened further and votes were cast reducing the number to 24, then 12. The 12 persons were split into group of four of three persons attached to each of the four judges made up ace producers: Puffy Tee, P.Prime, Sarz and Andre Vibez.
The winner will receive a $100,000 music deal made possible by a collaboration between ONErpm and U-Records. The remaining four finalists will also walk away with music deals ranging between $75,000 and $25,000.
In the first live show held at the Ultima Studios, Amore, Lekki, Lagos, the stars delivered electrifying performances, displayed high energy, and showcased the nation’s brightest Afrobeats talent.
The night kicked off with Puffy Tee’s team comprising three contestants who jointly rendered a team project. The Andre Vibez team mounted the stage with two artistes who jointly performed their team song. Sarz team upped the ante as they delivered their team project which infused reggae and Fuji, getting applause from audience P.prime team with three members was the energy that fully set the tone for the night.
Ayo Benzy kicked off the solo contest with his song titled Jamilaya, produced by Puffy Tee. Psamuel mounted the stage to perform Jara, produced by Andre Vibez and Yellow Girl adorned in the Asian conical hat and yellow top and pant, rendered Cry of a Hustler produced by Sarz.
First Choice performed Anu produced by P. Prime while Lucky Yay performed Loke produced by Sarz. Dave Cash performed Koleyewon produced by Puffy Tee. Kaeko performed The Best produced by Andre Vibez, follow Immansion who performed Moving produced by P. Prime.
Somto O’laker performed Gbona produced by Andre Vibez; Tunexz performed Holy Water produced by Puffy Tee, Eniolaa came with the vibe as she mounted the stage to perform You Don’t Know produced by Sarz. Astroboi crowned the night rgy as he geared up the audience. He performed Senorita produced by P.Prime. Lil Kesh cap the night with a special performance.
Executive Producer, NAS, Olufemi Ayeni said that Afrobeats is beyond the voice. “The four judges are the beat makers who have produced some of the biggest music in the world.
Speaking, Temidayo Babatope Joseph, popularly known by his stage name PuffyTee, said: “The show is beyond rating, it broke scales. This is one of its kinds and I am excited to be part of the show. We are mentoring artistes that will take over the global stage.
