Universal
Music SA has announced that they are signing six more singers from The Voice SA.
The talent
from M-Net’s The Voice SA is taking
the local music industry by storm. Since the hit show’s final at the end of
May, winner Richard Stirton has already topped the iTunes charts with two
number one singles, runner-up Gavin Edwards then followed suit with his song Sparks and Zoë Modiga has been entertaining television
viewers in a new M-Net Movies brand promo.
Among the
vocalists who clinched Universal Music deals are Durban’s Jono Johansen and Austin
Lurring from Pietermaritzburg. The others include blind singer Vernon Barnard; family
man Jeremy Olivier; Almur Marais, known to many as “Stilfontein”, and the
classically trained opera singer Johan Anker.
This treasure
trove of talent joins Richard and Gavin as well as the two ladies who were told
in the show’s finale that Universal Music wanted them in their stable, Thembeka
Mnguni and Zoë Modiga.
“We are delighted
by the incredible talent that has emerged from season 1 of The Voice SA - the
show and the talent far exceeded our expectations! We believe that the ten artists
that we’ve chosen to work with represent a good cross section of the SA music
landscape, with each one having their own unique sound and personality. We look
forward to working with each one of them,” says Kevin Grenfell, head of A&R
at Universal Music.
Earlier this
week, Richard Stirton was also named the best winner of The Voice
internationally, after a panel was recently tasked to rank winners of the
global franchise from 23 different countries.
“It’s
fantastic to see that in its very first season The Voice SA has provided a platform to kickstart or elevate the
careers of phenomenal musicians, “says M-Net’s Head of Publicity, Lani
Lombard. “We’re very proud of Richard and his achievements to date and are
excited that not only our winner, but so many of the other stars of the show
will have the opportunity to make their music dreams come true.”