‘The Voice SA’ hosts confirmed

Lungile Radu and Stacey Norman

Lungile Radu and Stacey Norman

Published Nov 26, 2015

Share

The hosts of The Voice SA have been confirmed. Tonight got an EXCLUSIVE with the faces viewers will soon be seeing on the small screen, writes Debashine Thangevelo

 

AFTER exposing South African viewers to the US version of The Voice, which has been doing well in the UK too, M-Net have decided to do a local version of the talent-scouting music reality series.

The coaching panel comprises home-grown heavyweights: Karen Zoid, Kahn Morbee, Lira and Bobby van Jaarsveld, who bring their different expertise to the mentoring table.

And now the suave Lungile Radu has been confirmed as the host of The Voice SA with radio presenter Stacey Norman holding down the fort in the V-Room.

Radu has previously hosted Fear Factor SA, Goal Diggerz, Big Brother Mzansi, Kasi 101 as well as the Channel O Africa Music Video Awards. He’s also made forays into acting on e.tv’s Rhythm City and has produced and starred in his reality series, Forever Young.

But Radu remains the unassuming person he was when he started out in the industry. And his affable personality makes him the perfect host.

Radu says, “The journey has been amazing… I thought about it the other day, looking at how far I have come. And I got married and I have a little baby boy… not bad for this little guy from Pimville. But it’s all been through dedication, hard work and discipline. You know, knocking on those same doors. Moving through that door. But, the achievements have been very fruitful.”

On making his mark with Forever Young, he sayss, “We pitched these local shows to the channels. People want to see something they can relate to… We have a new season coming out on January 8.”

 

With regards to The Voice SA, he says, “The host is the glue. He is not really on stage introducing the guys singing. He is behind the scenes speaking to family members. He provides the connections. His role isn’t to outshine the artists/contestants or the coaches.”

This is the first time he will have someone he can bounce things off. And he has nothing but praise for Norman.

“She has a really great personality. We are going to have some really good times with her. Also, I haven’t had a co-host before so it’s going to be awesome bouncing off her and sharing the energies. At least, it’s not all on me,” he laughs.

Although he is a consummate professional, Radu did confess to being a little starstruck by Lira.

Norman is absolutely ravishing and her personality shines through. She is witty, without trying to be and is one of the voices on 94.7 Highveld Stereo.

Although those in her inner circle encouraged her to give TV a shot, she knew it would happen at the right time. And she couldn’t ask for a better launch pad than this.

All you wanted to know about the 2nd round of The Voice SA • All entrants who have made it to Blinds will be informed...

Posted by The Voice SA on  Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Recalling the moment when she got the call, she says, “The first thing I thought about was, ‘Well, what am I going to wear?’ To be fair, you only have three minutes to impress. So I wore my tutu skirt with sneakers. As it turned out, it worked.”

And she slots into her role as V-Room host perfectly. Aside from enjoying listening to people sing, she also sang competitively when she was younger.

She jokes, “I couldn’t sing, but that’s not the point. I have won some cash in competitions, I won’t lie. But that just shows you how rubbish everyone else was.”

Shedding light on what she brings to the table, she says, “When all the talent are done, they will come up to me in my own room, where I will be echoing the live social media feed as it comes through. I will be there to facilitate their story as it evolves on social media.”

She is enthusiastic about working with Radu, saying, “Firstly, he is great. Secondly, no rumours will start. He is married and I have been with the same person for five years. So those close pictures are because we were told to stand that way. We are not secretly in love with each other.”

Although this is a big deal for Norman – she won’t be letting it go to her head. She is kept grounded by her parents. That said, she does have a major crush on Maroon 5 front man, Adam Levine.

She says, with a straight face, “That’s real – that’s not a crush. That’s a 10-year goal. My boyfriend understands that. You don’t know how excited I was when I found out his wife was from Namibia. It’s getting closer…”

Aside from the talent and dramatic tension, viewers should brace themselves for a disarming Radu and livewire Norman. There won’t be a dull moment.

The Voice SA airs on M-Net (DStv channel 101) at 6pm on January 31 next year. To catch the video interviews with them, go to: www.mnet.tv/thevoice. And you can follow them on Twitter: @lungile_radu and @staceynorman17

Related Topics: