Airtel Trace Music Star crowns Ghanaian winner

Before the winner was announced, finalists of the contest slugged it out, belting tunes for the opportunity to represent their country at the continental finals.

The event was held at the National Theatre in Accra, where hiplife maestro Reggie Rockstone, singer Becca and radio host and Sarkodie manager Sammy Forson gathered in their capacity as judges.

At the end of the show, Moses Ugheighele came out tops, clinching 50 000 cedis ($13 000) for his efforts. The IT expert has sung professionally for a decade, mostly in church. He thanked his family and his pastor as supporters of his talent. His rendition of ‘Everything I Do’, the 1991 soft-rock ballad by Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams, was the winning performance.

“I was not expecting it; my fellow contestants were very talented,” he later said about his success at the competition. “I promise to give myself to training and performance lessons as I prepare for the Pan-African finale in Lagos.”

Next time Moses is on screen for the Airtel Trace show, he’ll be up against nine other singers from across Africa (representing Niger, DR Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zambia), who will compete to become the grand winner of the show’s second season in Lagos, Nigeria. The show aims to uncover the continent’s next big thing, and comes with an opportunity to record with USA star Keri Hilson. The Airtel Trace Music Star contest is regarded as one of the biggest music talent searches in the world, with hundreds of thousands of hopefuls entering this year's edition.