Burundi’s Irakoze is TPF6 winner

Burundi’s Hope Irakoze is the winner of the Tusker Project Fame season six (TPF 6). He beat first runners-up, the duo of Amos & Josh, Uganda’s Daisy and Tanzania’s Hisia, who came third and fourth respectively at a colourful grand finale, held in Nairobi yesterday.The talented Burundian gathered more votes than any other contestants, walking away with Rwf35m (Kshs5m), plus a recording contract.Confident from the start, the 25-year-old performer and jazz singer was the man to beat to the top prize, having eased through auditions and easily performed his way to the final day.Out of all the contestants left in TPF 6 Academy, Hope is one of the few who knew that he had the star power that people like and his ability to win over the judges with his breath-taking performances was a sign that he was in line to win this year’s edition.That came to pass last night. As the Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Culture Dr Hassan Wario announced his name, the Burundian hunk sunk to his knees and shed tears of joy.His fellow contestants, as if to concede, surrounded him to congratulate him. Hundreds took to the social media to congratulate the deep voiced singer who is threatening to be East Africa’s next big thing.Apart from the money, Hope will have a 1 year recording deal with Sony Music. What remains now is to see if Hope will defy odds and remain afloat, considering that most winners of TPF vanish from limelight as soon as they win the regional music competition.Fittingly, Alpha Rwirangira, the winner of TPF3 took to Twitter to congratulate Hope, pointing out that he couldn’t be happier, wishing Hope the best of luck in his newly launched music career.Previous and this season’s contestants put up thrilling performances on the final day, including previous winners Ruth Matete and Davis Ntale in what turned out to be one of the most exciting finales of the music contest.TPF 6 kicked off on October 6. It was aired on Citizen TV and other national broadcasters across the region. Rwanda’s final contestant Patrick Nyamitali was eliminated on the eve of the finale along with Kenya’s Nyambura.The country had counted on Patrick to bring the money home but it never came to pass. PhionahMbabazi, the other remaining Rwandan contestant had been evicted earlier.The competition focuses on East Africa’s Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda and South Sudan countries.The 8-week show is known for creating a platform in which budding singers are trained.Who is Hope?Hope Irakoze is a 25-year-old budding singer who performs at Kigali Serena Hotel. Hope is a son of a pastor. His mum too is a singer.He grew up in a family with 8 boys and 2 girls. Hope has already performed with major East African names like Kidum, so he knows what to do on a big stage.He enjoys playing the guitar and the plectrum. His role models are Frank Sinatra and Otis Redding. He says Jackson Kalimba, another contestant who represented Rwanda in the 5th edition is one of his greatest singers.

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Burundi’s Irakoze is TPF6 winner