Destination Talents triumphs

By Sam Banda Jnr & Elita Soko:

Malawi Has Talent season one, led by The Times Group in partnership with First Capital Bank (FCB), is done and dusted following Destination Talents’ triumph during the grand finale at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe on Saturday.

Destination Talents landed faultlessly as they accumulated more votes, as tabulated by an independent auditing firm, during the grand finale.

Hosts of the grand finale Yankho Seunda and Thabi Kamwangala Mwenifumbo left the responsibility of pronouncing the winner to FCB officials.

That is how Destination Talents were declared winners, to walk away with the top prize of K5 million and a wooden trophy of the map of Malawi.

It was a merited win for the group that served a powerful sketch that resonated well with the audience.

With proper props, the sketch took people to the graveyard, where the audience met with one of the country’s heroes John Chilembwe, who converses with an individual of the current generation.

In their conversation, Destination Talents looks at where the country has come from and probes at whether Malawi is still enjoying the freedom that Chilembwe fought for.

In their sketch, the youthful group observes that the country is still reeling from poverty, nepotism and corruption, among other vices.

Destination Talents, which was established in 2020, has been using art to generate funds to assist the needy, including secondary school students.

They were the only act out of the 10 finalists that received a standing ovation on the night.

Even judges, namely celebrated poet Q Malewezi, veteran promoter Jai Banda and gospel musician Wendy Harawa, gave them a standing ovation after finishing their set.

“Glory be to God Almighty for this victory. We worked very hard. We did not see this coming but from the response that we got from the judges and the audience after the performance, we believed we could do it and here we are,” one of the members of the group said.

He further said Destination Talents will use part of the prize money to reach out to the needy.

“We, as members, actually support the needy and, so, we are geared to continue doing this. We just want to thank The Times Group and First Capital Bank for creating this platform for us to showcase our talents. Let them continue doing this,” the group’s leader said.

While drama showed its strength, through Destination Talents, to claim the top position and outclass the other art forms, singers Vanessa Nalikungwi and Temwa Kaunda completed the winning combo by grabbing the second and third position prizes, respectively.

Nalikungwi walked away with K2 million and a trophy while Kaunda pocketed K1 million and a trophy.

“I am short of words. The competition was tough, all the finalists were good, but God has made it possible for me to make it,” Nalikungwi said.

She also hailed The Times Group and FCB for creating Malawi Has Talent.

“We have massive talent in the country but there are no platforms for these talents to get exposure. For me, this is just the beginning, I am looking at doing more,” she said.

Kaunda, who was embraced by her family at the end, said she would first of all pay tithe and then use the remaining amount of money to support her family.

“It was not easy. It has been a long journey, starting from auditions to national elimination and now the grand finale. For coming third, I say praise God,” she said.

The grand finale opened with a performance from legendary musician Soldier Lucius Banda, who dished out four songs, before the 10 finalists got into action with their performances.

Apart from Destination Talents, Nalikungwi and Kaunda, the other finalists were Jonathan White (poet), The Invinsible Crew (dance), Chisomo Banda (singer), Kesia Saiwa (singer), Beatus Msamange (poet), Samuel Phiri (percussionist) and Felicity Thunyani (contortionist).

Before crowning the winner, there were evictions, with the 10 narrowed down to five.

Times Television Station Manager Wonder Msiska said they were geared to continue unearthing talent through Malawi Has Talent.

“Season one is just the beginning as there is more to come. We would like to thank Malawians for giving us support during the grand finale and it has been a success because of you,” Msiska said.

He hailed FCB for partnering with them to unearth talent through Malawi Has Talent.

FCB Head of Marketing and Communication Twikale Chirwa described the grand finale as thrilling and that all the 10 finalists gave it their all.

“This should encourage talent out there to come out and contest in season two,” Chirwa said.

On the night, the audience was also treated to performances by legendary poet Benedicto Wokomaatani Malunga and amapiano star Zeze Kingston.

In building up to the grand finale, army brass band marched, joined by the 10 finalists from Parliament Building to BICC.

Malawi Has Talent started with the signing ceremony, which was held at Times Entertainment Studios in Blantyre, where The Times Group and FCB officials put pen to paper to walk together.

Then came the launch which took place at Amaryllis Hotel in Blantyre and was presided over by Deputy Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture Owen Chomanika.

Chomanika thanked The Times Group and FCB for creating such a platform to unearth talent.

A call was then made for registration where several people expressed interest in participating in the competition before getting down to auditions and then national elimination show, with the climax being the grand finale.

“I have enjoyed Malawi Has Talent. We have seen talents. For instance, I did not know about contortionism and now I know,” Martha Dimba, a resident of Chilomoni in Blantyre, said.