The voting public named Team Khaya – Khaya Mthethwa’s handpicked 20-piece choir from KZN – the winner of Mzansi Magic’s Clash of the Choirs SA. The announcement was made last night (Sunday, 21 April) during the spectacular series finale, live from the Soweto Theatre in Jabulani. After several elimination rounds, the seven choirs from seven provinces, under the leadership of seven celebrity choirmasters, were whittled down to only three at the end of last week Sunday’s episode.
Khaya’s ensemble competed against the harmonising voices of Zakes Bantwini’s team from Gauteng and Zwai Bala’s spirited singers from Mpumalanga to clinch the competition’s cash prize of R750 000. While R500 000 of this whopping grand prize goes to the winning choir, R250 000 has been set aside for the charity of their choice. The charity that will benefit from Team Khaya’s victory is Siyanakakela charity, from uMlazi, e-Section.
In the lead-up to the all-important announcement, the three Clash of the Choirs SA finalists created fireworks on stage for one last time, while hugely popular musicians Mafikizolo and Micasa added extra excitement to the line-up. And, for the first time ever, the seven choir masters performed together. “Clash of the Choirs was a resounding success,” says Yolisa Phahle, M-Net’s Director of Local Interest Channels. “The show has been truly entertaining and showcased our country’s fine tradition of choral music in a refreshing way.”
For the duration of the series, Clash of the Choirs SA has been the most watched programme in its timeslot, with viewership increasing week after week. According to Phahle, the commitment and passion of the choir masters contributed hugely to this success story. “These fantastic musicians challenged themselves by creating unique, world class arrangements of popular local and international hits, week after week. All seven the choir masters also embraced the opportunity to mentor upcoming talent, give back to communities and use music to unify, entertain and educate.”
During the course of the series, audiences witnessed how the contestants transformed into confident, harmonising groups from being nervous unpolished singers at their first auditions. They were also given glamorous makeovers and benefitted from vocal coaching sessions by the Music Director, RJ Benjamin who spearheaded their musical maturity from their first performances to the finish line. “They have achieved so much over the past thirteen weeks and we are proud to have helped unearth such fantastic talent,” says Metropolitan brand executive, Belinda Faulkner.
‘‘At Metropolitan, we truly believe in helping our customers and their communities to confidently shape their future towards financial freedom. As official sponsor of Clash of the Choirs SA, we are delighted to congratulate the winning choir, Team Khaya, KZN and runners up Team Zwai, Mpumalanga and Team Zakes, Gauteng on coming a long way.” The voting results were verified by the auditing firm De Loitte.