Auditions for the second season of
I Want To Sing Gospel ended in Durbs this past Friday (17 June) wrapping a five city search.
As previously spilt, the show's upped the snazz for the season with the introduction of a dedicated studio for the live performances and a bigger cash prize.
Juice that I've been wondering about is what music producer Lindelani Mkhize thinks about Season 1. As the solo judge for it, does he think Lungisani Ntuli was the correcto winner? I asked him:
Lindelani: *laughs* Mmmm, I'll start by saying that I'm happy that I don't decide on the final winner - that the public decides, but I would like to believe that they decided more on sentiments and emotion whereas me, as a musician and talent scout, I decide on the capabilities and I look at the business side of things and the future. I don't think I would have finally chosen him as the winner but I'm fine with it.
I don't want to put my head on a block - I'm fine that the public chooses the winner - so long as I'm able to create a career for the other guys too - that's what I'm really interested in. I really don't care who wins at the end of the day but let's create careers out of this.
What's the story with Lungisani's career? In 2009 he released his album titled Mhlobo Wami which seemed to come and go with little fanfare or longativity. Why? What happened?
Lindelani: It was the record company more than the producer because with gospel music, he has his own way of interpreting it but the record company who released and marketed it are the ones who really didn't do justice to it.
Tashi: So you'll use a different record company now?
Lindelani: We'll use a different one now.
Tashi: How come a record label did the album instead of you? How does that all work?
Lindelani: What I do is - and I'll be doing the same with Season 2 - with I Want To Sing Gospel, I'm not looking for an Idol but I want us to be able to help people who can sing to create and make a career out of their singing so I wanted to do that with a whole lot of people, not just the winner.
That's why I decided to give it to a record company and they licence them from me, which is what happened. So Gallo licenced the artists from me and they went ahead with it.
Because I think Lungisani has something, we'll be working with him to try and bring something back.
in Lindelani's envelope?
The latest season of Britain's Got Talent has added a fun new factor to the format of the series: the judges have to place their choice for the win in a secret envelope - which they only reveal after the public has voted for the winner once the season's over. Who would Lindelani have chosen to win?
Lindelani: *laughs* I enjoyed what
Sphumelele was doing. Also because it was not what people expected.
I think that, as much as along the way, other people were more technical singers than her - she got dropped off number four or something - Sphumelele would have made it for me.
Kgotso would have been one of them. I think the comptition was between Kgotso,
Charisma and Sphumelele, for me.
Sphumelele = the artist formerly known as Ntokozo Mbambo. At the time of the show she became known as Sphumelele to avoid confusion with the established gospel artist of the same name.
Tashi: With every reality show's there's the question of: how do you give people a long life after the show?
Lindelani: I think that's one thing that we managed to do. Out of the top 10, I can safely say that eight out of those 10 have a living out of gospel music after the show. That we are happy for and we want to maintain that.
Tashi: Who would you say has done the best out of all of them since the show?
Lindelani: Sphumelele and Charisma. The two girls. Kgotso might be coming strong. Watch this space.
The new season premieres on SABC2 on Sunday, 17 July at 20h00.