East Africa's Got Talent is a talent show competition that is part of the Got Talent franchise owned by Simon Cowell. It broadcasts simultaneously across four countries in East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda.
The show has two rounds of auditions. The first round referred to as, pre-auditions is held across different cities in each participating country. The second round, referred to as, theater auditions are done later at a setting in front of Judges and live audience. Preliminary auditions The pre-auditions were held in major cities in each country which included Nairobi, Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Kampala and Kigali. Theater auditions Once a performance is over, each judge will give an overview of what they thought about the act, before casting a vote. The judges are allowed to use the golden buzzer to send an act directly to the semi finals. Each judge can only press the golden buzzer once throughout the entire season. Deliberations After the completion of theater auditions, the judges whittle down the acts to only eighteen to compete in the semi finals. Live shows Finals The final episode operates using the same format as the semi finals, though this time the winner is determined purely by a public vote, with the finalists attempting to secure more votes than the others by performing a new routine at their best. The host announces the results with the act gaining more public votes declared the winner. The winner receives a grand prize of 50 000 dollars.
The show has two rounds of auditions. The first round referred to as, pre-auditions is held across different cities in each participating country. The second round, referred to as theater auditions, are done later at a setting in front of judges and a live audience. Preliminary auditions The pre-auditions were held in major cities in each country. Theater auditions Theater auditions were held in Nairobi, Kenya in front of judges and a live audience. The judges cast a vote to either eliminate an act or send it through to the next stage. Golden Buzzer A judge can also press the golden buzzer which sends an act direct to the semi finals. The first Judge to press the golden buzzer was Vanessa Mdee for Uganda's 7year old, Leyna Kagere. Jeff Koinange pressed his second golden buzzer for Tanzania's Team Makochokocho. The third golden buzzer from Makeda went to Hoziyana Peace from Rwanda. The last golden buzzer was pressed by Gaetano Kagwa for Uganda's Jehova Shalom Acapella.
Contestants
Eighteen contestants were selected from the theatre auditions. Each week, six contestants took to the stage to secure their spot at the finals, but only two contestants were selected to the finals, one by public voting and another by the judges.
Concerns were raised about the Burundian drummers not coming from the four participating countries namely Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania. The producers of the show released a statement clarifying that the group members were legal residents of Rwanda and had all the rights to participate as participation was open to anyone from the four countries.
