Daniel Kaweesa wins Coca Cola Rated Next

May 05, 2013

A star has been born! 23 year old Daniel Kaweesa is the winner of the Coca Cola Rated Next singing competition’s staked sh50m jackpot and a recording deal

By George Wabweyo

A star has been born! 23 year old Daniel Kaweesa is the winner of the Coca Cola Rated Next singing competition’s staked sh50m jackpot and a recording deal with renowned producer Steve Jean’s Fenon Records.

He beat off competition to emerge the winner after a long protracted musical battle which included thronged auditions, boot camp at the Ndere Center and a final top ten line-up that had weekly evictions. The new star was unveiled at a high stakes finale at Wonderworld Kansanga on Sunday evening.

The first and second runners-up were equally talented Rebecca Nanziri and Comfort Asingwire. They bagged consolatory sh5m and 2m shillings with A Samsung Galaxy tab. The top seven each got a Samsung smartphone. The grand finale of the show also had performances from Cindy of the Amateeka fame and heartthrob Maurice Kirya.

Daniel Kaweesa receives his dummy cheque worth shs50,000,000 from Vision Group CEO Robert Kabushenga and Century Bottling Company MD Norton Kingwill. Photo by Dennis Dibele

“I am so glad and excited about this win. I thank God so much and my fans, Coca Cola and Vision Group. There is so much I am going to bring out and all I need is your support. My journey begins here,” a teary eyed Kaweesa said.

For him, the magic started at the Arua auditions where he flawlessly nailed Juliana Kanyomozi’s Kanyimbe to book a spot in the competition.  The Development Studies graduate from Uganda Christian University Arua was a favourite with the crowds; especially the ladies.

His amazing vocals and an imposingly impressive stage presence did the thing for him. He survived the judge’s axes and was saved on several occasions by the public and fans who voted to retain him on the show. At the Finale, Daniel performed among others Abakyala Baziira by Jamal and Agassi by Jackie Chandiru to a wild and applauding audience. 

L-R: Finalists Nanziri, Comfort Asingwire and Daniel Kaweesa flanked by Urban TV's Charles Mwiyeretsi await their fate during the finale. Photo by Dennis Dibele

“It’s been four months of traversing the whole of Uganda looking for young talent. I am happy that as Coca Cola we have been able to offer a platform to these young boys and girl. I congratulate Daniel from Arua” said Brandon Ssemanda the brand Manager of Coca Cola Uganda. On her part, Susan Nsibirwa the Vision Group Head of Marketing thanked Coca Cola, Fenon Entertainment and the public which was great at voting.

The Coca Cola Urban TV Rated Next singing contest had the tagline 'Sing It'.  To achieve the massive display of talent which the show had, the contest canvassed all the major towns in Uganda including Lira, Gulu, Mbarara, Masaka, Kampala, Jinja Fort Portal and Mbale.

This long journey to unmask Uganda’s next best thing in music started off on January 16th chaperoned by judges Siima Sabiti of XFM and award winning artistes Maurice Kirya and Sharpe Ssewali who all made a musically credible panel. Over 5,000 hopefuls auditioned for the show that has been airing on Vision Group’s Urban TV, Bukedde 1 and 2 alongside TV West. 

BELOW: An amateur's recording of the finale. We will put up an edited full version of the final later today.

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