I’m involved in Naija Star Search because it celebrates Nigerian music — Kenny Ogungbe

Record label and showbiz Executive, Kenny Keke Ogungbe has expressed reasons for throwing his weight behind StarTimes Nigeria’s reality TV show, Naija Star Search.

In a media chat, Ogungbe said being one of the forerunners of the Afrobeats genre, the show is set out to further promote Nigerian music to gain more prominence on a global scale.

This is even as the online audition for the reality show has been extended to July 20 with ten million naira prize money and other consolation prizes.

Promising talents will be invited to the physical audition in Lagos from July 22 to 24.

“Naija Star Search reality show is quite different from other reality shows anyone has seen before because this particular show is not about celebrating foreign music. It is about celebrating Nigerian music. If you go to some talent show rehearsals, you would hear them singing Beyonce, John Legend, and Kanye West’s songs. There will be no foreign songs; only Naija sounds, Afrobeats precisely,” he said.

“Let’s look at the way Nigerian Music is being accepted today, trying to gain worldwide attention. We have a population of about 200 million people, let’s look at Jamaica which has a population of about 6 million people, everybody knows it is Reggae music that is popular in Jamaica. It is popular among 6 million people in Jamaica; everybody all over the world sings Reggae music. I want everybody to be singing Afrobeats too.

“It is time to take over the entire world with our language, pidgin English; people singing in pidgin English in Paris, China and everywhere. That is where we are going with this. I want to say a big thank you to StarTimes for bringing this up.

“Most of the time, people send me their songs even when they see me on the street because of what I have done before and they appreciate what I have done, they appreciate what I am doing right now, and for me to listen to everybody’s songs is quite difficult. And if I don’t listen to them, they will be upset with me. That is why I came up with this reality show, by partnering with StarTimes, to satisfy everybody.

The Naija Star Search Reality Show is powered by affordable pay-TV company, StarTimes. Audition for Naija Star Search is open till July