The talent on the first season of The Voice South Africa was so great that Universal Music South Africa has decided to sign 10 acts to their stable. Winner Richard Stirton and runner-up Gavin Edwards have already dropped their debut singles and contestants Thembeka Mnguni and Zoë Modiga were awarded contracts on the show’s epic finale. In fact, Zoë’s voice can already be heard on M-Net’s new promo. Today, the record label announced that they will be signing six more acts.
The vocalists who clinched Universal Music deals are blind singer Vernon Barnard; Durban’s Jono Johansen; family man Jeremy Olivier; Almur Marais, known to many as “Stilfontein”, the classically trained opera singer Johan Anker and the supercool Austin Lurring from Pietermaritzburg. The label is wasting no time as Thembeka Mnguni and Jono Johansen are both releasing their debut singles on 22 July, while winner Richard Stirton will be releasing his full debut album in late August.
“We are delighted by the incredible talent that has emerged from season 1 of The Voice SA – the show and the talent far exceeded our expectations! We believe that the ten artists that we’ve chosen to work with represent a good cross-section of the SA music landscape, with each one having their own unique sound and personality. We look forward to working with each one of them,” says Kevin Grenfell, head of A&R at Universal Music.
“It’s fantastic to see that in its very first season The Voice SA has provided a platform to kickstart or elevate the careers of phenomenal musicians, “says M-Net’s Head of Publicity, Lani Lombard. “We’re very proud of Richard and his achievements to date and are excited that not only our winner, but so many of the other stars of the show will have the opportunity to make their music dreams come true.”
I’m really excited to see what these acts bring to the table with their partnership with Universal Music South Africa. It’s clear that this has been one of the most successful reality shows the country has ever seen. Bring on the new music!
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What about Prime Zulu???
[…] Africa has been exceptional. So exceptional, in fact, that Universal Music has signed not one but 10 acts from the season to its label. After releasing tracks from winner Richard Stirton and runner-up Gavin Edwards, it’s time for […]