light YOUR FIRE
MTN Bushfire is thrilled to announce this year’s explosive edition of Eswatini’s vibrant music talent competition designed for up-and-coming artists in the country, MTN Bushfire Firefly!
Sponsored by MTN Eswatini, the MTN Bushfire Firefly music competition continues to be one of the hottest artist launch pads in Eswatini. With an inspiring history of creating dynamic opportunities and facilitating extensive reach for young artists, this competition is an established platform for Eswatini artists looking to advance their musical careers beyond the country’s borders.
Young. Gifted. Free!
The MTN Bushfire Firefly competition is for the #YoungGiftedFree – the trailblazers who dream big and hustle hard! This competition creates a music space with no limitations for the youth to freely express themselves by showcasing their musical creativity and lyrical authenticity.
All genres of vocal music are welcome!
2025 APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN!
We’re calling on all up-and-coming vocalists, singers and rappers to submit at least 2 music recordings to be considered for the competition. The adjudication process involves a combination of expert industry judges and public online votes. Amongst exciting prizes and new career development opportunities, the final three winners will perform at the internationally acclaimed MTN Bushfire 2025 festival.
Voting will be conducted via the MTN Bushfire Firefly channel on the AYOBA app, which can be downloaded from www.ayoba.me or any online download store.
NB: Please read How It Works, How To Apply and T’s & C’s below
How it Works?
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:
11 February 2025: Applications Open
7 March 2025: Applications Close
11 March 2025: Top 20 Announcement & Voting
26 March 2025: Top 20 Voting Closes
28 March 2025: Top 10 Announcement
20 April 2025: Top 10 Voting Closes
24 April 2025: MTN Bushfire Firefly Grand Finale
30 May – 2 June 2025: Top 3 performance at MTN Bushfire Festival
Important notices:
- All Top 20 finalists are required to attend live auditions at House On Fire in March 2025 (date TBC). 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
- Public voting will take place on ayoba.me https://i.ayo.ba/YgBb/mtnfirefly – a percentage of public votes are required to get your favourite artist to the MTN Bushfire Firefly Top 3
- 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 Thursday, 24 April 2025, 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
How to Apply
- 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 HERE: bit.ly/MTNBushfireFirefly2025
- 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.
MTN Bushfire Arts Round Table – Artist Workshop
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.
Terms & Conditions
- 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, 22 March 2025. 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 take place on the ayoba.me app only. This will be in the form of weekly voting Polls
- Applications close on Friday, 7th March 2025. Please note that only successful applicants will be contacted
Get With it on AYOBA!
- Voting will be conducted via the MTN Bushfire Firefly channel on the AYOBA app, which can be downloaded from www.ayoba.me or any online download store.