Lerato Matheka
MASERU — Musician Palesa Motlomelo on Friday walked away M150 000 richer after she was named the Vodacom Superstar winner.
Gospel star, Thabang Ramakhula, came second and winning M60 000 in the process.
Famo group Nalete came third winning M30 000 while Khahliso Mphephoka and Stlofa came fourth and fifth respectively.
They each received M10 000.
Motlomelo said she was expecting the win.
“I cannot really say it was tough because of the different genres that were under consideration except for the gospel contenders that I was competing against,” Motlomelo said.
“I was very much afraid of Khahliso because he is already established but I gave it my all. I am very humbled and very happy.”
She said she hoped to use the victory as a stepping stone to advance her music career.
“This is the beginning of a new journey for my career. I have a couple of songs that I will be putting together into an album in the near future,” she said.
Motlomelo thanked Vodacom Lesotho for coming up with the initiative to groom upcoming new artists.
“I have always wanted to take my talent to greater heights but without resources I couldn’t. I deeply thank Vodacom for opening doors for aspiring artists in Lesotho.”
Vodacom Lesotho’s executive manager commercials, Tsabiso Letsoela, said the company was dedicated to making a difference in the arts.
“It’s about time we stood up and made Lesotho a country we can be proud of,” Letsoela said.
He said the Vodacom Superstar competition should be a channel to make Lesotho’s music industry known and respected at the international level.
“It would be a great thing to get Lesotho’s music aired on the likes of Channel O during programmes focusing solely on our music,” Letsoela said.
Respected musician, Tshepo Tshola, told the contenders that music careers are not shaped by competitions.
“Competitions are there to provide a platform to showcase talent but they are not the end of a music career. Judges are not the determining factors of talent,” Tshola said.
He congratulated Basotho who took part in the competition.
Tshola and Bhudaza Mapefane wowed the crowds with sterling performances at the function.
Tseliso Mokoai, who was one of the three judges, said picking the best out of the five finalists was a tough assignment.
“All the five contestants closely tied making the competition very tough.
“We were judging on the basic rudiments of music which included tone quality, musicality, breath control and confidence among others,” Mokoai said.
“Fortunately with music competitions irrespective of the genre, basic rules need to be followed so we were guided by those,” Mokoai, who is the founder of choral music giants, JP Choristers, said.
“There is a lot of talent in Lesotho. We saw a lot of commitment and determination. That made it very difficult to determine the winner,” he said.
The show was a night to remember with Bhudaza mesmerising fans with his tunes from his three best-selling albums.
South Africa’s King of Kwaito, Arthur Mafokate, also stepped onto stage with his sexy dancers and proved why he is dubbed the master with a sizzling performance.
South Africa’s hip hop star, Tuks, also took to stage as the curtains finally came down on an eventful night.
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