The History of Project Fame

With Tusker Project Fame Season 5  officially underway in East Africa, West Africa isn’t far behind as the region is also set to host its fifth edition ‘coming soon’.

The catch phrase is the same as ours – ‘The Biggest Ever’ – and promises to be the best Project Fame to date. In West Africa though, the title sponsor is mobile communication provider MTN and has seen a series of 4 successive seasons since its inception in June 2010.

Former MTN Project Fame Stars

Both Tusker Project Fame and MTN Project Fame are local versions of the Star Academy which was initially a Spanish reality TV show developed and licensed worldwide by Endemol. It is developed and repackaged in over 50 countries worldwide where the format is almost similar: pop music talent showing and viewer voting to make eliminations to the final best.

The versions may be different across regions and countries, but the format is basically the same, with contestants staying at ‘The Academy’ where they are coached on various performance and musical disciplines. While boarding at this location, they are monitored by viewers via camera, which was an idea borrowed from the other Endemol reality show Big Brother, thereafter they have weekly performances to battle it out to stay in the Academy through the highest number of votes.

There are occassional guest star performances by local or international celebrities and the eventual winner is handed a recording deal and a cash prize.

The first country to broadcast the Star Academy was France in October 2001, though the idea belonged to the Spanish version which went on air just two days later. The first Project Fame on the continent was held in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2004, and brought together participants from over 8 different countries. It was won by Zambia’s Lindiwe Alam.

The inaugural East African version, Tusker Project Fame, started in 2006 with Kenya’s Valerie Kimani winning the title.