After six long months, thousands of entries, five brilliant performances and more amazing star-studded moments than you can shake a stick at; the Airtel Trace Star was finally announced month during the final competition held at the forecourt of the World Trade Center, Accra.

The five finalists were whittled down one; Linda Goraseh won the battle for the grand prize of GHC 50,000 and also gets to represents Ghana in Kenya on the 28th of March, 2015 to compete for Best African Music Talent along with eleven other contestants from countries where Airtel is in operation.

The former social work student of the University of Ghana impressed the judges throughout the competition and crowned it all with her gracious and strong performance of Alexander Burkes’ Hallelujah on the night of the final competition.

Upon first contact, Linda seems like a typical church girl. She is soft spoken with a calm persona and sung mostly gospel songs throughout the competition.

However, upon digging deeper it was revealed that she looked up to non-gospel local musicians like Kojo Antwi and Becca because of their great lyrics, strong vocal skills and the local Ghanaian feel their music always came with. Linda is also not confined to a particular specific genre of music but would love to write and sing songs that would inspire people.

The young talent explained that she discovered her gift while imitating someone she admired when she was in class four, but it wasn’t until she completed Senior High School and entered into a talent hunt organised by her church that other people witnessed her great vocal skills.

When asked how she joined the race for the Trace Star competition, Linda honestly admitted that she just decided to call in and give it a try, not giving much thought to how far she could go in the competition.

After two weeks, Linda received a call that hers had been one of the best voices so far. With the turn of these events, Linda realised how far she had come and begun to take the competition more seriously.

Taking part in the Airtel Trace competition played a big role in bringing her closer to her dream of being a music star. As a contestant, she received voice and stagecraft training that built her confidence and her stage craft.

She explains that “Airtel Trace was the biggest opportunity I had that ushered me into my music career, because I had always wanted to sing but the only avenues available to me for some time were wedding ceremonies and church. It is very important to grab opportunities as they come because, just like in my case, they could be your means to a bigger stage in your life or career.”

Linda also plans on investing her cash prize into her music career.

Her relations with the other contestants had been a warm and cordial one from the time they were selected and even now after the competition. She confessed that “every one of us was very talented and I felt intimidated at a point but I stood my ground and believed in myself. I think it was out of God’s grace that I won”.

The final competition to be held in Kenya for the Best African Music Talent promises to be much more competitive and challenging, but Linda is very confident she will win. ‘Aside winning the Best African Music Talent, I plan on learning as much as I can from the other competitors who may have more experience than myself’, she said.

The very competitive title of Best African Music Talent comes with the enviable grand prizes of a recording deal with Kon Live, a distributed label through Universal Music Group, and an intense mentorship programme with Akon in the United States of America.

When asked what her plans were after Airtel Trace Star competition, Linda said with her background in Social Work she will like to involve herself in a lot of philanthropic work and alongside build a career in writing and making music. She plans on using every opportunity Airtel Trace star has given her to launch her music career.

Airtel Trace Star competition is an opportunity to develop the African music industry by creating a platform for the exposure of African music and musicians to the rest of the world. The competition recognizes talented young singers who are dramatically and musically convincing in a wide range of repertoire.

The competition was also an opportunity for Airtel to connect and communicate with their customers globally. Airtel Ghana has partnered with Trace TV because it is a globally recognized brand that gives the seal of recognition to many international artists.