Joseph Niyonkuru and Jean Luc Mutuzo were among the contestants of 'The Voice Africa' who did not make it past the first round of the competition held in Lagos, Nigeria.

The New Times learnt that Niyonkuru and Mutuzo didn’t get the scores that would allow them to continue and were immediately dismissed from the competition.

The dismissal of the two means that Rwanda is represented by five talents who progressed to the next round of the competition.

Mutuzo and Niyonkuru leaves behind Belinda Uwase, Linda Umurerwa best known as Linda Montez, Kibetega Claudette Jasmine Kibatega and Theoneste Rwamukwaya, at the ongoing competition.

After the video of the contestants in The Voice Africa is broadcasted on various television channels, the elections will begin on July 23, while the awards will be presented at the final show on September 10, 2023.

While 12,308 talents were selected for the audition stage, a total of 100 (seven per country), in addition to two wild cards, were chosen to proceed to the live shows in Lagos, Nigeria. Organised by Airtel in partnership with FAME Studios Africa, the show will be broadcast on free to air TV stations across its markets.

The Voice Africa will follow the format of the global show, starting out with blind auditions, battle rounds, knockouts, playoffs and conclude with the live shows. The show will run for 25 weeks, airing one show per week, with the first shows running the blind auditions based solely on the talents’ voices and not looks.

This competition is broadcasted on different television channels, in Rwanda it is on Rwanda Television and Airtel TV every Sunday from 7:00 to 2:00 pm.