Eyes on the prize in new BSS season

The 11th edition of Bongo Star Search (BSS) is up and running with the first auditions having already been held on September 19 in Mbeya.

Chief Judge and founder of the show Rita Paulsen says the auditions will go to five other regions in mainland Tanzania.

With their next stop set for Arusha on September 26, the 11th season of BSS which has been christened ‘Mpya Kubwa na Nusu’ will also hold auditions in Mwanza, Dodoma and Dar es Salaam.

According to the schedule issued by the production company Benchmark Productions, this year’s edition will take four months with the finals slated for January 2021.

The production company has also thrown in a new line-up of judges which includes former BSS protégée and Bongo Flava artistes, Ommy Dimpos and Christian Bella.

“We have chosen the two judges owing to their experience in Bongo Flava and besides they are also very good singers,” says Rita Paulsen, who maintains that it is part of the norm to pick two new judges every season.

She says a lot has gone into the preparations and she believes they are more prepared than before to meet the expectations of their audience who will be viewing them on the Star Swahili channel on Star Times

“It is time for people to watch and see what we have prepared, there are a lot of new things like production, new judges, all you guys have to do is watch this new season,” she says.

The show sees Idris Sultan reassume his role as the show’s host, but there’s a new face in this range, Kayla Meddy, a charming media personality who’s heading the show’s social media presence as the lead digital host.

The Clouds Media Group rising star is part of the BSS entourage that’s moving from region to region in search of the top cream who’ll potentially go on to become successful artistes.

In 2019 the contest was dragged into controversy after the eventual winner Meshack Fukuto claimed that he had not been paid his prize money as agreed.

The incident captured showbiz highlights after Deputy Minister for Information Culture, Arts, and Sports, Juliana Shonza issued a month ultimatum to the show producers to ensure the winner is duly paid.

Though not much has been said since then, the confirmation is that he was eventually paid his prize money by Benchmark, but as admitted, it was more of a contractual issue that was delayed due to the outbreak of the pandemic.

But even with such a troubled recent past, Rita Paulsen the anchor of the talent show, says there is no turning back, because she loves what she is doing, and that she is doing it from the bottom of her heart.

“This show is all about giving people a platform to showcase what they have than the eventual act of winning. As you have witnessed in the past, it has changed lives,” she says.

According to her, while in Mbeya hundreds of young people turned up for the auditions but they only had to pick six despite the slots being limited to five.

BSS has produced some household names in the industry such as Kala Jeremiah, Peter Msechu and even one of the current biggest Bongo Flava artistes Harmonize had a stint at the talent search show during his early days in the music game.