Whether strings, skins, keys or wind instruments are your thing, if you think you or your band are destined to become the next big thing on the music scene, you could soon be walking off with a cool R200 000 if you're crowned top of the pops, or the R100 000 runner-up prize.
From 5 to 31 October 2009, the search is on for South Africa's hottest young musicians - from budding vocalists, drummers and keyboardists to guitar wizards and players of traditional instruments, playing in a style or genre of your choice. The only criterion is that the songs must be your own original compositions.
This forms the local leg of an international talent search by Doritos that spans South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and the South African winner will have the chance to perform to a live online audience across the globe as part of the prize.
To enter, buy a 45g or 150g packet of Doritos, record a short original music performance video of no longer than five minutes on your phone or camera, and upload it via the Internet to www.doritosbeheard.co.za.
On your video, don't forget to include a brief introduction of yourself or your band, outlining what your new music angle is and feature your pack of Doritos. Ensure that the recording is of good visual and sound quality - your music video should be entertaining, creative and make a bold musical statement.
Only one entry will be accepted per entrant. During the search phase, members of the public will be able to log on to www.doritosbeheard.co.za or www.beheard.mobi and rate the videos.
The Doritos Be Heard roadshow will also be hitting a campus near you soon, travelling around the country to five universities as well as to several nightclubs. The Doritos crew will be filming would-be superstars performing their music before uploading them as competition entries.
At the end of October, the top-40 uploaded videos, as rated by the public, will be announced and a panel of judges will then narrow the field down to 10 finalists to go through to the next round - the voting phase.
Between 5 and 27 November 2009, music fans can register on www.doritosbeheard.co.za and www.beheard.mobi, and then rate and vote for their favourite musical performances. During both the search and the voting phases, those who hop online to root for their favourites stand in line to win great weekly prizes that alternate between R3000 cash awards and funky iPhones.
