Clash of the Choirs returns to South Africa

South Africa’s version of Banijay reality singing format Clash of the Choirs has begun auditions in nine cities for its fourth season after a seven-year hiatus.

The 13-part new season will premiere on Mzansi Magic, part of the MultiChoice bouquet of digital pay channels, on September 24 and will feature amateur choirs as well as solo singers who are mentored by celebrity musicians as they compete for a cash prize.

The show first aired in South Africa in 2013 but hasn’t been produced there for seven years.

The format usually features five South African music stars who return to their hometowns to assemble an amateur choir and prepare them to compete live before a national audience for the title of South Africa’s best choir.

Auditions will be held in all nine provinces of South Africa and the producers are on the lookout for talented individuals from each to form a choir. The winning choir will receive a prize of R1m (US$55,700).

South African singers aged 19 years and above are eligible to apply to audition from now until August 15. For details, click here.

Clash of the Choirs is based on a format devised by Swedish singer Caroline af Ugglas and prodco Friday TV and is produced locally by Goat Originals. The executive producers are Jemma Ford and Graeme Swanepoel.

The Clash of the Choirs format debuted on NBC in the US in 2007, produced by BBC Studios, and has been adapted locally in 22 countries, including Australia (Seven Network), China (CCTV-1) and France (TF1). It is owned and distributed internationally by global production group Banijay.