Love this week already

Welcome to Africa Week. This week we have 28 songs from artists originating across the continent of Africa, representing 16 different sovereign nations.

Here are the following countries represented in this weeks contest.

🇦🇴 Angola
🇨🇲 Cameroon
🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo
🇪🇬 Egypt
🇪🇷 Eritrea
🇪🇹 Ethiopia
🇬🇭 Ghana
🇱🇸 Lesotho
🇲🇱 Mali
🇲🇿 Mozambique
🇳🇬 Nigeria
🇷🇼 Rwanda
🇸🇴 Somalia
🇿🇦 South Africa
🇿🇲 Zambia
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe

Tonight's Running Order

01) Salatiel
02) Tiwa Savage
03) VanJess
04) Juvy, Megahertz, Ntate Honye
05) Nathalie Saba
06) Lady Zamar
07) Thabsie
08) Pongo
09) GIMS
10) Butera Knowless
11) Samuel Storm
12) Yemi Alade
13) Jano band
14) BeBe Zahara Benet
15) Tkay Maidza
16) Amaal
17) Kwamie Liv
18) Samito
19) Reggie 'N' Bollie
20) Tusse
21) Sophia Ayana
22) Aya Nakamura
23) Seether
24) Shungudzo
25) Rimon
26) Amadou & Mariam
27) Alice Phoebe Lou
28) Tems

I have written a small write-up for each artist about their background and origins. Let's begin!

01) Salatiel - 'Vamos (ft. Soul Bang's)'


Salatiel Livenja Bessong was born on December 26, 1987 in Tiko, Cameroon. He was raised in a Christian family, headed by his pastor father. In 2014 he started his own label, Alpha Betta Records. In 2019, he featured on Beyonce’s The Lion King: The Gift Album on the track “Water”.

02) Tiwa Savage - 'All Over'


Tiwatope Savage, known professionally as Tiwa Savage, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and actress born on 5 February, 1980. She relocated to London at the age of 11 for her secondary education. Five years later, she began her music career doing backup vocals for artists such as George Michael and Mary J. Blige. In 2006, Savage participated in the third UK edition of The X Factor and advanced to the final 24, but ended up being eliminated before the start of the live shows. In 2009 Savage signed a publishing deal with Sony Music, and later moved back to Nigeria after being inspired by the growth of the Nigerian music industry.

03) VanJess - 'Come Over'


VanJess is a Nigerian R&B duo composed of sisters Ivana and Jessica Nwokike. Although they were born in the United States, Ivana and Jessica spent most of their childhood in Nigeria before relocating to La Palma, California with their mother. The duo first began their career on YouTube performing cover songs. After one of their videos, a cover of Drake’s “Headlines”, had viral success, they decided to pursue a serious career in music. The sisters list Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, and TLC as some of their biggest musical influences.

04) Juvy, Megahertz, Ntate Honye - 'K'HOTHO'


Not to be confused with American rapper Juvenile, Juvy Oa Lepimpara is a Lesothan hip-hop artist. He started rapping in 2007 in Cape Town, South Africa, where his love for hip-hop started. He worked with a renowned Lesothan jazz musician on his first single Vele, being voted Lesotho’s song of the year in 2010. Juvy also hosted a radio show for three years on one of Lesotho’s biggest radio stations. He teams up with American producer Megahertz, and Ntate Honye for this week’s contest.

05) Nathalie Saba - 'Fe Nas'


Nathalie Saba was born in 1998 in Cairo, Egypt. Despite her Egyptian roots, Saba’s debut single was written and recorded in Sweden. Saba is signed to Sony Music Entertainment, and has an EP released in 2016. Her newest single and TSC entry, “Fe Nas”, is Saba’s first single in Arabic. During her free time Saba enjoys listening to “confident female artists” including Lorde and London Grammar. She currently has 14.4k Instagram followers, and approximately 5500 monthly listeners on Spotify.

06) Lady Zamar - 'Adore'


Yamikani Janet Banda, known professionally as Lady Zamar, is a South African singer and songwriter. She initially performed as part of a duo, but later moved on to a solo career. Her first solo album, King Zamar, was released in 2017 and later certified gold in 2018. In June 2019 it was certified double platinum. At the 2018 South African Music Awards she won the award for Best Dance Album.

07) Thabsie - 'Finally'


Thabsie, whose birth name is Bathabise Biyela, is a South African R&B vocalist, songwriter and businesswoman. Thabsie always loved music, but did not dream of being a singer. Instead, she attended the University of Johannesburg and graduated with an economics degree, landing her a corporate job in an investment bank. However, she quickly realized that music was her passion, so she left her typical 9-to-5 job to pursue a singing career. She initially kept her career change a secret from her family, but went on to produce her biggest single titled “Ngiyaz’fela Ngawe” alongside multi-award-winning South African rapper, Kwesta.

08) Pongo - 'UWA'


Born in 1992 in Angola, Pongo is a 27-year old Lisbon-based musician whose music is inspired by her Angolan roots. On her newest EP Uwa, Pongo pushes the Angolan sound of kuduro - a vibrant chatter of soca, samba, hip-hop and techno. Pongo earned her stage name - an affirmation of female strength inspired by the late, feminist Congolese singer M’Pongo Love.

09) GIMS - 'Le Pire'


Gandhi Bilel Djuna, better known by his stage name Maitre Gims (sometimes stylized as GIMS), is a Congolese singer, rapper and composer. He grew up in France, but currently spends his time living between France and Morocco. He is a former member of the hip hop group Sexion d’Assault, and released his debut album as a soloist in 2013. The album went on to sell over one million copies in France, and peaked at number two in the French album chart. In 2018 Gims was the seventh most played artist worldwide on Deezer, a French online music streaming service.

10) Butera Knowless - 'Player'


Born Jeanne d’Arc Ingabire Butera, Butera Knowless is a Rwandan R&B singer. Butera writes many of her own songs, touching on themes such as romantic relationships, societal issues and daily life. In 2013, Knowless was one of three Rwandan acts to perform at the “Rwanda Day” event held in London. She has collaborated with numerous Rwandan artists, and has named American R&B singer-songwriter Brandy Norwood as one of her biggest inspirations.

11) Samuel Storm - 'Begging'


Samuel Storm was born on 1 December 1997, in Lagos, Nigeria. When he was 19 years old, he relocated to Italy to participate on Italy’s edition of X Factor. His story of hope and suffering resonated with the judges. Sauel said he went on a nine-month journey along with 130 other desperate people. The refugees boarded a boat and were rescued by an Italian ship. He made it to the final of the eleventh season of X Factor in Italy, ultimately placing fourth.