Zimbabwe hosts African Idol auditions

On Thursday, 20 March, if you have the courage to make your dreams come true in African Idol, you had better be at the Celebrations Conference Centre in Harare. That’s when M-Net’s star-making reality hit Idols is in Tanzania to host its one make-or-break audition session in the country.

With a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ recording contract through the famed SONY BMG and a massive USD80 000 cash prize up for the grabs for the winner of Idols, the first step on the road to Idols fame is to enter the first audition. Because that’s when hopes start to turn into reality!

And here’s a tip for entrants….its important that you get to the BLUE PEARL HOTEL early on Friday 7 March in order to register for auditions. Registration begins at 08:00. Entrants are advised that only the first 1500 to arrive at the venue are guaranteed an audition on day 1. So the earlier you arrive, the better your chance. If you aren’t auditioned on day 1, you will be asked to return on day 2 (March 18) or day 3 (March 19) for your audition.

But the date to diarize is definitely Thursday 20 March.

That’s the one and only day to register for auditions. If you don’t register on Friday, 7 March, there’s no other audition you can attend.

Thereafter the entrants who make it through the initial auditions with the show’s preliminary judges will then be asked to come back to the Blue Pearl Hotel in the days that follow to meet the show’s TV judges. These Idols heavyweights will then decide whether you’re good enough to head into the show’s big TOP 100 stage.

Meanwhile, if you can't make it to the Zimbabwean auditions, another opportunity awaits you on Monday, 24 March at the Crossroads Hotel in Lilongwe, Malawi.

And once the Idols spotlight has passed over Lilongwe, look out for the judges and the final opportunity to audition in:Gaborone, Botswana on Friday, 28 March at the Grand Palm Hotel.

Come prepared for Idols…remember to dress to impress, bring proof of identity with you, practice your high notes, learn your lyrics and keep your attitude positive. It’s all about turning a few moments into a lifetime of stardom!

Auditions are open to anyone between the ages of 18 and 27, who is a citizen of Botswana, Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Reunion, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

But just what should you sing at your audition?

Entrants can sing from a wide range of music including Traditional, Western, English, African, Pop, Reggae, R’nB and rock. If an entrant is selected for the Theatre, Group or Top 10 phases, they must be able to sing Pop, African and Western music, including English language songs.

Meanwhile, proving the power of the IDOLS format to draw key sponsors who want to be associated with the show’s glamour and energy, M-Net is proud to announce that Celtel is the headline sponsor of the new season of IDOLS.