Press Release

In the very first episode of M-Net's much-awaited new singing contest, The Voice South Africa, coaches Karen Zoid, Bobby van Jaarsveld, Lira and Kahn Morbee were blown away by the exceptional talent – and willing to fight it out to get these great voices onto their teams.
 

During this Blind Audition phase of the competition, which stretches over seven episodes, the four coaches sit with their backs to the stage in order to make decisions based on the performers' vocal ability only.

Knowing that there are only 14 places in each of their teams, they then have to press a buzzer to swivel their chairs around if they want the talent in their team.

The show's iconic red chairs made a full circle for seven out of tonight's 10 singers and time and time again the talent faced a conundrum – which coach to choose? Each of these singers impressed more than one of the coaches, which meant that Kahn, Bobby, Lira and Karen had to outdo their fellow coaches with a pitch to prove that they would be the perfect coach.

Lira managed to snatch up two of the singers who all four of the coaches had their eye one, El Clay (25) from Vredendal in the Western Cape and Jeremy Oliver (40) from Cape Town, but another singer for whom all four the chairs turned, Prime Zulu (27) from Durban, surprised the audience by picking Kahn.

Two more singers from KZN, 18-year-old Jessica Martins and 24-year-old Mbijana Sibisi, are in Bobby's team after tonight's show, while Team Karen comprises Marcel de Almeida (24) from Pretoria who was brave enough to perform one of Khan's songs as well as Thembeka Mnguni (32) from Durban for whom the legandary rock chick had to fight hard.

Team Lira

El Clay (25) from Vredendal in the Western Cape. El entered The Voice SA because it presents an opportunity for him to advance his recording studio business which he recently founded with his brother. He dreams of winning SAMAs one day, just like his coach Lira, who he won over with his audition song "Not The Only One", by Sam Smith.

Jeremy Olivier (40) from Cape Town. Jeremy hoped to win Lira's favour at the Blind auditions, as she changed his outlook on life when she had a heart-to-heart with him at a gig some time ago. To Jeremy's surprise all four of the coaches were fighting over him after his rendition of John Legend's "All of me", but there could only be one winner, and Lira it was.

Team Karen

Thembeka Mnguni (32) from Durban. Thembeka chose Alicia Keys' "Brand New Me" as her Blind audition song and Karen, Bobby, and Lira turned their chairs. In the end, Karen's pitch resonated the most with Thembeka, having promised her that if she joins #TeamKaren, she will be the "Queen of the Team".

Marcel De Almeida (24) from Pretoria. Marcel is an unashamed old school rocker, who counts Guns 'n Roses, Queen, Led Zeppelin, and AC/DC among his musical icons. When he performed The Parlotones's "Push Me To The Floor" in his Blind audition, Karen and Bobby wanted him in their teams. So, he chose SA's foremost rock chick, Karen.

Team Bobby

Jessica Martins (18) from KZN. In her Blind audition, she charmed three of the coaches -  Karen, Kahn and Bobby –  with her angelic and unique voice. Despite being the youngest person seen in the auditions so far, she will now be a force to be reckoned with in #TeamBobby.

Mbijana Sibisi (24) from Durban. Mbijana gave up his job as a dental technician to become a full-time musician and maybe a respected international singer-songwriter, like his musical icons Tracy Chapman, Paul Simon, Vusi Mahlasela, and Bob Marley. After Bobby and Karen turned their chairs around for his performance of Marley's "Redemption Song",  he chose Bobby because "he said we are two good-looking guys who can work well together," he joked.

Team Kahn

Prime Zulu (27) from Durban. Prime is chasing his musical dreams in tribute to his dad, a musician whom he lost in December 2014. His emotionally-charged performance and deep bass had all four the coaches cheering and begging him to join their teams. A tearful Prime then picked Kahn.

For more information about The Voice SA visit mnet.tv/thevoiceor be sure to download the exclusive The Voice SA app on Android or iOS to play real-time games, and to keep up to date with the latest developments from the coaches and the talent.

You can also join The Voice SA conversation on "The Voice SA" Facebook page, and via Twitter on @VoiceSA with the hashtag #TheVoiceSA, or use your WeChat account and check in with the ID MNetTV.