kykNET (DStv 144), taking a page from M-Net's Mzansi Magic channel, is adding its own "clash of the choirs" show with Varsity Sing that will see see university choirs battle each other on stage in a competition about vocal adrenalin.
Varsity Sing will start on 14 July on kykNET, M-Net's Afrikaans language TV channel supplied to MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform after South Africa's established university choirs have for years refused to directly compete against each other.
Twelve university choirs will compete over 13 weeks in Varsity Sing to choose the winner.
"TV audiences will be inspired and entertained by the best choirs in the country. Expect a combination of traditional, contemporary and original choir music during impressive performances," says the show in a statement.
Shows are recorded in front of a live audience with the Varsity Sing finale that will be broadcast live on kykNET. Christo Burger is the head judge together with two alternating celebrities per episode.
'Choir music is one of the most popular forms of performance art in the world and we have excellent university choirs in South Africa," says Karen Meiring, M-Net's director of Afrikaans channels.
"Getting them to perform on national television will take choir performances to the next level of popularity".
The 12 choirs competing include:
University of Cape Town
University of the Western Cape
University of Stellenbosch
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
University of Rhodes
Tshwane University of Technology
University of Pretoria
University of Johannesburg
University of Limpopo
University of the Free State
Central University of Technology
Vaal University of Technology
