By Ndumbe Bell JG in Douala
It has been announced in a press conference that young men and women of age bracket 18 to 34 with passion and talent to join and contribute to the Cameroonian music heritage and add a plus to the entertainment industry, now have the opportunity to do so.
The leading telecommunications giant, Orange Cameroun ascertained that those with the predilection for music to the level of being enshrined as legends or stars are found to be handicapped because of the lack of sponsorship and other enabling facilities. The outfit has, for many decades taken up the challenge to fulfill the dreams as a means of creating jobs through their corporate social responsibility.
At the Orange Cameroun’s Makepe auditorium recently, Robert Ekotto, in the presence of legends such as Sandrine Nnanga , Elvis Kemayo, Ben Decca, Locko and Lucia Lemlon of CRTV, highlighted that the fast-track programme appeared to have been well publicised by their media partners, igniting applications from June 1 to June 30 of 2000 candidates from the 10 regions of the triangle. It was explained that the legends were hired to undertake the responsibilities of pre-selecting 30 candidates because that is their specialty to use their expertise and experiences to coach the aspirants. Legend after legend expressed their gratitude to Orange Cameroun and when asked about the criteria to be used, there seemed to have been none at the moment because, according them, it all depends on the music genre each of the talents preferred to produce. The music stars welcomed the conducive environment that is to be provided by Orange Cameroun facilities to enhance the three weeks of coaching when the list is published in the weeks ahead as stated. The coaching process will be followed by 24 episodes on Crtv, Canal II, Trace and Star every weekend on Saturday from 5pm to 9pm. Orange Cameroun will use the media partners and digital platforms including MaxIt to showcase their productions be it Makossa, Bikutsi, Rap, Mangambo etc as coaching intensifies.
With the legends and the public’s participation, a short list of 10 talents will be published from where four finalists will emerge as coaching goes on. The day of the finals is not yet decided but it is expected to hold on a date before February 11, 2026. It is then that the winner(s) will be known.
The coordinator of the event stated that whoever will emerge as the winner(s) is reserved a package containing FCFA 3 million, a video of the event/himself paid by Orange Cameroun, a paid album and he will be granted 12 to 24 months of visibility and promotionals in all media partners and then will be eligible to showcase their productions in competition with the finalists of other countries where the Orange group is operational or the international stage.
