The Sunday Mail
Leisure Reporter
STAR FM’s lustre continues to shine bright like a diamond.
Since its conception, the radio station has been a trendsetter and maintains the ground-breaking status.
Now three years old, the station is set to end the year in style, with a potentially explosive gig dubbed “Star FM Year End Gig”.
The event that will also incorporate the inaugural ceremony of the People’s Choice Awards has been slated for December 5 at the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC).
According to officials from Star FM, the categories will have an open nomination with the general public nominating deserving candidates.
After the nominations, the public will also be responsible for the final voting process.
The People’s Choice Awards categories include Business Person of the Year, Most Influential Person under 40, Artiste of the Year, Song of the Year, Humanitarian of the Year, Album of the Year, Best Producer and Sportsperson of the Year.
In an interview, Star FM general manager Comfort Mbofana highlighted that the event “is for the people, designed by the people”.
“We want to honour our outstanding citizens. The nominees are coming from the public since they are going to select the candidates and also vote for the eventual winners. This is a way of taking radio to the people like we always do at Star FM,” said Mbofana.
“We have the most wonderful listeners and we are looking forward to conquering not only Zimbabwe but the world.
“Team Harare, team Bulawayo and most recently team Beitbridge (among others) have been doing great and we thank them for the support,” he added.
Top selling South African artiste Zahara, real name Bulelwa Mkutukana, is expected to add glitz to the affair through her exhilarating performance.
The talented diva, who is yet to disappoint in Zimbabwe, will be supported by the high-flying Jah Prayzah, born Mukudzei Mukombe, and the evergreen dendera crooner Suluman “Sulu” Chimbetu.
Zahara is currently riding high with her latest 13-track offering titled “Country Girl”. The album, which carries soothing tracks like “Ntombenhle”, “Imali”, “Inameva” and “Walks of Life” was dropped end of September this year and is currently topping charts in the region.
Statistics from South Africa reveal that the project went gold, selling 20 000 copies in just 24 hours of its release and has since been certified multi-platinum.
“Country Girl” is Zahara’s third studio album, following her successful debut effort “Loliwe” (2011) and the follow-up “Phendula”, which won the best-selling album at the 20th Annual South African Music Awards (SAMAs).
Add to that, Zahara has a magnificent stage presence that has had many fans literally eating from her hands. During her visits to the country, she has refused to be intimidated by inform local artistes, giving them a good run for their money.
And this time around she will meet a fired-up Jah Prayzah who is also riding high with his latest offering “Jerusarema”. Sulu is also putting final touches to songs from his forthcoming album that he has been sampling during live gigs. The event is expected to set the festive mood in full swing.
