Four Rwandan vocalists who made it to the final stages of 'The Voice Africa' competition have returned to Nigeria for the knockout stage of the competition, The New Times has learnt.

The vocalists are among a reduced pool of 32 talents from across the continent that will compete head-to-head to impress their coaches for a chance to stay in the show and win a 100,000 US dollars grand prize, Airtel goodies, and a recording contract with Universal Studios.

The four who headed to Lagos include Belinda Uwase, Linda Umurerwa popularly known as Linda Montez, Jasmine Claudette Kibetega and Jason Chukwuka Nwachukwu Tobechukwu, a Nigerian. Jean Luc Mutuzo and Joseph Niyonkuru were dismissed, while Théoneste Blaise Rwamukwaya pulled out of the competition for personal reasons.

Also read: Who are the Rwandans shining at The Voice Africa 2023?

The New Times understands that the vocalists have already arrived in Lagos, Nigeria and are currently preparing to compete in the next stage of the competition.

In a recent interview with The New Times, Didier Mukezangango, The Voice Africa Lead in Rwanda, said that all Rwandan vocalists who made it to the knockout show deserved it and some of them are the best in the competition as they show possible signs of bagging the trophy home.

He said that battles were the most difficult part of the competition so far and all Rwandans that reached the stage got a pass, which indicates how Rwanda might be the most well represented country at the competition.

"At the beginning of the competition, we had seven musicians representing Rwanda and two were eliminated at the blind auditions. All the remaining five were selected to continue at the knockout stage. Rwanda is among the countries with the best musicians at The Voice Africa and have high chances of winning this year's edition,” Mukezangango said.

During the knockout stage, talents will be paired against each other, selecting a song to perform individually while their direct competitors watch and wait. Coaches will choose the winner but the artiste who is not selected will still have the opportunity to be saved by any coach to remain in the competition.

About The Voice Africa

The Voice Africa connected by Airtel is a vocal music reality show that airs every week, and it has attracted millions across Africa and the world over.

The participating countries include Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Madagascar, Chad, DRC, Malawi, Niger, Zambia, Seychelles, and the host Nigeria.

The weekly shows are hosted by Dakore Igbuson and Gaetano Kaggwa, while Yemi Alade, Awilo Longomba, Lady Jaydee, and Charles Locko Samba from Cameroon are coaching the talents who made it through the blind auditions.

Once the show gets to live performances, viewers will vote via different channels. The episodes will be broadcasted on different channels and YouTube across the continent from March to December 2023, when the winner will be announced.

Rwanda’s representatives have so far put on commendable performances, and their fans are hopeful that they will make it to the finals and bring the trophy home.