… Phomolo could be standing on the threshold to stardom
RORISANG MOGOJWE
Fourteen-year old Phomolo Somolekae is about to become the first Motswana to go on stage at the hugely popular talent competition, America’s Got Talent.
However, unless Batswana come forward with donations to sponsor her trip and back, the teen tyro could be hamstrung. Once that hurdle is overcome, Phomolo is expected to dazzle the audience and impress the tough judges on one of the world’s biggest talent stages on Saturday February 1st 2020.
Somolekae is a Serowe native raised in Gaborone who is currently awaiting Form 4 placement. Her doting mother, Monica Somolokae, says she discovered that Phomolo could sing when her daughter was only 4 years old after she stunned the family with a Jackson 5 song, “Who’s Loving You.” At age 9, she competed in local talent show, My African Dream, and made it to the finals.
“I wanted to nurture my daughter’s talent from a very young age, so I encouraged her to enter talent shows,” says Phomolo’s mother. “I also did research on America’s Got Talent, trying to find out what it takes to make it to the competition. When I did, I registered Phomolo and sent them all the necessary details. The next thing I knew, I was informed that she made it!”
Mother and daughter are now asking for donations from members of the public for Phomolo to go to the US. “We are calling on 650 Batswana to help Phomolo achieve her dream to compete in America’s Got Talent,” the teen’s mother explains. “We are asking for every individual to open their hearts and wallets and donate P100.”
For her part, Phomolo is urging talented young Batswana to dare to dream. “If you are going to dream, dream big,” says the teen tyro that could be standing on the threshold of stardom. “I was told to start small, but my dream was bigger than that. And now it is about to come true.”
NBC, Syco Entertainment and Fremantle’s America’s Got Talent features a star-studded panel of judges, including executive producer Simon Cowell, global superstar Heidi Klum, AGT’s longest-running judge Howie Mandel and the newest addition, singer, songwriter and author Alesha Dixon.
The “Got Talent” format has had more than a billion global views since it began airing in 2006 in America and has aired in 194 territories worldwide.