Get your favourite MTN Bushfire Firefly artist to the MTN Bushfire festival 2026!!

How Voting Works
Top 20 – Get your favourite artist to the Top 10 by voting on Poll 1

• Vote here: https://bit.ly/VoteFirefly26 (You can only vote once)
• Simply select your favourite artist and submit your response
• Voting closes on Friday, 13 March 2026
• The Top 10 Artists with the most votes are selected to perform at the MTN Bushfire Firefly Grand Finale

Top 10 – Get your favourite artist to the Top 3 by voting on Poll 2

• Vote here:https://bit.ly/VoteFirefly26 opens on Friday, 27 March 2026 after the Top 10 announcement
• Simply select your favourite artist and submit your response
• Voting closes on Friday, 17 April 2026
• A combination of public voting, plus live voting and judges scores at the MTN Bushfire Firefly Grand Finale contributes to the selection of the Top 3 Winners

The Top 3 Winners will be selected at the MTN Bushfire Firefly Grand Finale at House On Fire on Friday, 24 April 2026 and win themselves a performance slot at MTN Bushfire 2026!

The MTN Bushfire music talent competition is open to up-and-coming vocalists, singers, and rappers aged 16 – 35 years in Eswatini. They are invited to submit their music recordings and EPK to participate in the competition.

Important dates:
3 December 2025: Applications Open
6 February 2026: Applications Close
20 February 2026: Top 20 Announcement & Voting
7 March 2026: Top 20 Live Auditions
13 March 2026: Top 20 Voting Closes
20 March 2026: Top 10 Announcement
10 April 2026: Top 10 Voting Closes
24 April 2026: MTN Bushfire Firefly Grand Finale
29 – 31 May 2026: Top 3 performance at MTN Bushfire Festival

Important notices:

• All Top 20 finalists are required to attend live auditions at House On Fire on Saturday, 7th March 2026. Failure to attend may result in disqualification
• All Top 10 finalists are required to sing on back-track during their performance at the Grand Finale
• Top 3 winners are required to sing on back-track during their performance at the MTN Bushfire festival

Adjudication process:

• Accredited adjudicators will consolidate and select the Top 20 Finalists
• A percentage of public votes are required to get your favourite artist to the MTN Bushfire Firefly Top 3. The voting platform will be announced in due course.
• The Top 20 will be publicised across several communications platforms to create awareness on their music
• The Top 10 will be selected by a combination of public votes and expert industry professional adjudication
• The final Top 3 will be selected based on their live performance at the MTN Bushfire Firefly Grand Finale on Friday, 24 April 2026, at House on Fire in Eswatini.
  *It is imperative that the Top 10 bring their A-game and market their participation effectively as this will contribute to their final scores.

Artist Benefits
Top 20 - Music promotion on international platforms
Top 20 - MTN CallerTunes on-boarding
Top 20 - Arts Round Table participation opportunity – networking with global stakeholders
Top 10 - Performance at the Firefly Top 10 Grand Finale with expense stipend
Top 10 - Branded merchandise
Top 3 - Mobile phones sponsored by MTN Eswatini
Top 3 - Performance slot at the MTN Bushfire festival with expense stipend

• Applicant must send 2 original tracks for consideration
• Applicant must send their EPK/ bio in i) PDF or ii) weblink
• Applicant must complete the application form here: https://form.jotform.com/253301347405549 (Applications open Wednesday, 3 December 2025).
• You must be between the ages of 16 and 35 years at the time of registration
• Applicants under 18 must have consent from a parent or legal guardian. Email [email protected] for more info.

The Top 20 MTN Bushfire Firefly finalists all receive an invitation to participate in the MTN Bushfire Arts Round Table (ART).

The Arts Round Table is Eswatini’s foremost arts industry development workshop promoting skills sharing, digital media development and best practices throughout the continent. It offers opportunities for brands to network and achieve a wider reach.

An ongoing partnership with the Berlin-based Africa Rising Music Conference (ARMC) enables direct networking and connections, as well as artist exchanges, between European and African music markets. Apart from online workshops that take place prior to the festival, the ART series of workshops takes place on the Friday of the MTN Bushfire festival weekend annually. These workshops connect aspiring artists from a multitude of disciplines with a select number of seasoned festival performers and creative industry specialists from across Africa and around the world. Artists and industry experts engage in thematically driven conversations around the professionalization and development of the arts. To date, over 940 artists and industry professionals have participated in the Arts Round Table workshops.

• Applicants must be between 16 and 35 years on the day of application
• If you are below 18 years, please email [email protected] for a parental consent form
• You must be a resident of Eswatini – ID will be requested
• You must include 2 tracks for consideration
• You must send your EPK/ bio in i)PDF or ii)weblink
• Your EPK / bio must include:
  • Name
  • Date Of Birth
  • Contact details
  • Genre
  • Brief bio
  • Promotional images
• Top 20 Finalists agree to have their music submissions uploaded online for public download / listening
• All Top 20 finalists are required to attend live auditions at House On Fire on Saturday, 7 March 2026. Failure to attend may result in disqualification
• All Top 10 finalists are required to sing on back-track during their performance at the Grand Finale
• Top 3 winners are required to sing on back-track during their performance at the MTN Bushfire festival
• Top 10 Finalists and Top 3 Winners will receive a stipend for their performances
• Applicant understands that this is a music competition for upcoming artists
• Applicant must have an active number registered on the MTN Eswatini network
• Voting will commence after the announcement of the MTN Bushfire Firefly Top 10 Finalists.
• Applications close on Friday, 30th January 2026. Please note that only successful applicants will be contacted