Project Fame was a pan-African version of the international talent/reality show Star Academy. Held in Johannesburg, South Africa from June to August 2004, the show had 16 African contestants – 9 of them South Africans – groomed for stardom, with the weakest being eliminated on a weekly basis; the top three received record deals and the winner got a lot more prizes.[1]

The contestants were eliminated in the following way: the judges placed four contestants on probation, the teachers could saved one, the other contestants could save another and viewers could save a third, thereby eliminating the last contestant. As the show progressed, the number of contestants placed on probation rose to five, resulting in two contestants being eliminated. The last five remaining contestants' fates were determined by viewers' votes.

An East African version; Tusker Project Fame (season 1) began on 1 October – 17 December 2006. It continues to run each year and the latest is Tusker Project Fame season 4 which ended on 6 December 2010, and won by Ugandan Davis Hillary Ntare.

The show can be described as Idols meets Big Brother Africa as the contestants' daily activities were recorded 24 hours a day.

Final results

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Rank Contestant Date of elimination Ref
1 Lindiwe Alam Zambia winner [2]
2 Jonathan Ross South Africa 29 August
3 Daré Art Alade Nigeria 29 August [3]
4 Tebogo Moloto South Africa 29 August
5 Tracey-Lee Oliver South Africa 29 August
6 Johan du Plooy* South Africa 22 August
6 Monica Burger South Africa 22 August
8 Kudzai Sevenzo* Zimbabwe 15 August [3]
8 Karen Lucas Kenya 15 August [4]
10 Claudia Mohr* South Africa 8 August
10 Steve Peralta South Africa 8 August
12 Didge Nyatome Kenya 1 August
13 Robyn Hendricks South Africa 25 July
14 Tumi Ramailane South Africa 18 July
15 Carl "Bodea" Eckle Tanzania 11 July
16 Jid'dah Ado-Ibrahim Nigeria 4 July

*These contestants performed better than their equally
ranked contestants as they were on probation less often.

References

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  1. ^ "Fame contestants on standby". News24. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  2. ^ "Project Fame stand-off". Independent Online. 6 August 2004. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Africa's best in Project Fame". New Vision. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Kenyan singer off to top world academy". Nation. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2023.