South African FM radio station that follows a Top 40 music format, 5FM says it will host a virtual feature, Unlock Your Talent, on air for New Year’s Eve on two of its shows.
The live performances will also be streamed and available to watch on its website.
Owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation, South Africa’s public broadcaster, the station has been home to two music competitions — the Intervarsity Music Challenge on 5Drive with Nick Hamman (Weekdays from 15:00 to 18:00) and the Unlock Your Talent on 5 Breakfast with Dan Corder (Weekdays from 06:00 to 09:00).
In each of the competitions, the station has searched for hidden musical talent from around the country. The station announced that all the winners of the Unlock Your Talent competition, with Cobi Mai representing Pretoria, Blurk Isis in Johannesburg, Matt Gardiner in Durban — as well as two Cape Town bands, Face & the Features and Year of Dogs.
The Unlock Your Talent competition would initially culminate in five parties across the country, where the winning bands in different provinces would open at a live event for popular favourites December Streets.
5FM’s business unit manager JD Mostert says the station has always been a firm music promoter in South Africa and invested in showcasing the best in local talent.
“We were excited to get back out there, support the industry and be in front of our audiences. However, the health and safety of our all our stakeholders remain of the utmost importance to us. We are very fortunate to be able to utilise the SABC’s world-class facilities and produce a virtual event unlike any other which allows to extend this campaign even further,” Mostert said.
The very first Unlock your Talent gig on New Year’s Eve will start at 18:00 with Dan Corder and Zanele Potelwa as MCs. It will feature a performance by December Streets, the winning bands from various provinces, the winner of the Intervarsity Music Challenge, and 5FM DJs on the decks.
The line-up comprises the following:
18:00: Jodie Michelle — Intervarsity Music Challenge Top 5 Finalist
18:15: Stephanie B
18:45: Cobi Mai — Unlock Your Talent Pretoria Winner
19:00: Kyle Cassim
19:30: Blurk Isis — Unlock Your Talent Joburg Winner
19:45: Zanele Potelwa
20:15: Matt Gardiner — Unlock Your Talent Durban Winner
20:30: Kid Fonque
21:00: Face & the Features — Unlock Your Talent Cape Town Winner
21:15: Ms Cosmo
21:45: Year of Dogs — Unlock Your Talent Cape Town Winner
22:00: Roger Goode
22:30: December Streets
23:30: Das Kapital
00:00: The event ends.
The station has encouraged its listeners to party safely in the comfort of their homes.
“This New Year’s Eve, party with us safely in the comfort of your home. Tune in on Friday, 31 December and follow 5FM on all social media platforms so that you don’t miss out,” it concluded.