Aug 182011
 

After months of auditions and much speculation, the North East has spoken and chosen the winner of the first ever NEX Factor. Voice’s Stephen Davy-Osborne reports, with thanks to Yasmeen Ali.

The singing contest, organised by Aberdeen based charity Malaika Africa and Cove based event management company Valley Events, encouraged teenagers to put their musical skills to the test in order to raise funds to build a learning centre for street kids in Mirerani, Tanzania.

The first rounds of auditions were held during June and July in Aberdeen, Dundee and Elgin and out of a total of 45 hopefuls including bands, ten finalists were chosen to perform at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre in the live grand final.

Whittling the ten semi finalists down to three were judges Alex Miller, Steven Milne, Joanne Randall and Ross Milne who selected Rowan Ah-See, Amber Hughes and Cara Mitchell to perform again, leaving the final decision to the audience, who chose 16-year old Rowan – from Aberdeen – as the winner of the first ever NEX Factor thanks to his fantastic voice and guitar playing skills,

Rowan Ah-See ( pictured ) walked away with the much coveted prizes of £1,000 in cash, a professional photo shoot, a recording session at a local recording studio and a luxury car to take the winner to the photo shoot.

Yasmeen Ali and Mirjam Meek were very pleased with how the evening went and with all the positive feedback received:

 “We couldn’t have wanted for a better event and it will be a challenge to do even better next year because the standard of talent was already so high”.

The sell-out evening was a huge success and the charity managed to raise nearly £6,000.

More info and Pictures of the event here: The-NEX-Factor-2011.html 

Aug 072011
 

Malaika Africa’s charity event of X-traordinary proportions, the NEX Factor, has completed its round of auditions and selected ten hopeful contestants, each hoping to be voted as the audience’s favourite at the grand final.  Aberdeen Voice weighs up the talent in advance of Saturday’s AECC final.

The contest  calls upon teenagers to put their vocal and musical skills to the test to help raise funds to build a school for children in Tanzania.
The NEX Factor has proven immensely popular, with judges finding it incredibly difficult to select their final candidates ahead of the live showdown this Saturday at the AECC.

Speaking after the auditions, Yasmeen Ali of Malaika Africa said:

‘The auditions went fantastically well and we cannot believe that there is so much young talent in Aberdeen….they are all mind-blowingly amazing!’

The ten lucky finalists are:

Rowan Ah-See, Hannah Mcbeth and Cara Mitchell from Aberdeen;
Lauri Green and Jaimie Sheridan from Dundee;
Elise Imison from Fraserburgh,
Amber Hughes from Inverurie;
Stephanie Buchan from Cairnbulg;
Bad Girl Reaction from Peterhead; 
and Image In Me from Lossiemouth.

These ten acts will go head-to-head in a live final in an attempt to wow the judging panel, and ultimately the audience who have final say in who wins.

There are a few tickets still available for the show, which promises to showcase the very best in young talent from the region.

For further information, check out www.malaika-africa.co.uk