MTN Nigeria announces Y’ello Star music talent show

At an occasion held in Lagos, Rahul De, chief marketing officer for MTN Nigeria, said: “We know that there are a lot of talented people in Nigeria who need to turn up their musical careers.This platform will help launch them to musical heights. We (MTN) have a wealth of experience in supporting Nigerian talent and are confident we can improve on our past successes.”

According to the telecommunications firm, “Y’ello Star is a musical platform created to search for, discover, nurture, expose and launch music talents in young Nigerians.” Present at the event were singer and former winner, Chidinma Ekile, actress Nse Ikpe-Etim, MTN Nigeria chief operating officer Mazen Mroue and Tobechukwu Okigbo, chief corporate services officer.

Hopefuls around Nigeria are to record themselves singing or performing and send the video to the organisers through any one of the various channels that include the MyMTN app, social media or the MTN Nigeria website, from where a team of judges will select potential finalists for the regional auditions that will held in cities across Nigeria (including Abuja, Enugu and Lagos) running up until June.

Finalists will proceed to the programme's ‘incubation hub’ in Lagos, where they will be coached by veterans and experts in an array of different facets of music production and show business as they aim for the top prize. Through the contest, the winner and runners up will get prizes to assist their musical aspirations - with the ultimate winner of the competition being awarded prize money in addition to a fully-furnished apartment fitted with studio equipment and a car.

Coming four years after the wrap up of its popular music talent search/reality show Project Fame, which produced successful artists such as Darey, Iyanya, Chidinma, Praiz and several others, MTN Nigeria has an established track record of this type of production. The MTN Foundation, through partnering with the Musical Society of Nigeria (MUSON), has also trained hundreds of young Nigerians in the business of art.

Participants can submit their videos to the Y’ello Star search by clicking here.