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Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
In life, all you need is just one person to believe in you. That is the script that played out for 18-year-old Blessing

Chitapa after she became the first Zimbabwean to win British singing competition, The Voice UK this past weekend.
It all started during the competition’s Blind Auditions where she sang her heart out with the hope to impress four coaches, will.i.am, Olly Murs, Tom Jones and Meghan Trainor.

With the coaches’ backs towards Blessing, she sang softly with her soothing voice gradually getting into the song, I’d rather go blind by Etta James. After some time, no coach seemed interested in pressing the red button and turning their chair to show their interest in having her on their team.

Upon realising this, her parents, Cleophas and Sarita who were watching live from the backstage looked worried as their child’s dream was dwindling right in front of their eyes.

The feeling was the same for Blessing who, although she was singing with a poker face, deep inside, was a bundle of nerves hoping and praying that one of the coaches would turn.

Watching her performance, it was clear she was losing hope as she wrapped up the song with the last lines “. . . please don’t walk away from me”. And indeed, one of the coaches, Olly Murs decided not to walk away from her and gladly turned his chair and said “Yes! I want you”.

In an interview from her UK-base this week, Blessing said this moment was a huge relief for her and a life-changing moment.

“When Olly turned around, it was a relief for me because nobody else was turning. It was quite scary. When he turned around at the last moment, it was the greatest thing ever because I almost didn’t make it into the competition.

“I remember when Olly turned around, he told the other three coaches that they’d regret this moment,” recounted Chitapa.

This is the break that she needed, just one person to believe in her and give her a chance to show the whole of UK and the world, her talent. And fortunately, Olly afforded her that chance.

She described Olly, an X Factor runner-up and TV presenter as a good person, great coach and mentor, even after the competition.

“Olly has been great as a coach and mentor even after the show as he’s stayed in contact. He has made me understand different crowds and audiences so, I think I’ve gained quite a bit of knowledge in some aspects of my singing through Olly.

“He’s really just a nice person. You usually think after these shows, the relationship will be done, but Olly has proven that he’s the same person on and off camera,” said Blessing.

The 18-year-old teen said at no point in the competition did she think she would win.

“This experience has taught me that if you have self-belief, you can achieve anything. There were times when I didn’t think I could do it, but Olly helped me to develop my self-belief system. Being the second act in a row to win with Olly has made me feel incredibly lucky.”

Before entering the competition, Blessing had always been musical as she was surrounded by gospel singers from birth leading her to develop a passion for music. Her parents are both pastors at the Cornerstone Fellowship Church in West Bromwich town.

“Growing up, each time my dad was preaching, he’d ask me to minister (sing) before he preaches. I think this helped me to build my confidence and that’s why I can be on stage, confident and bold enough because of what my parents exposed me to.

“I’m so grateful to my parents. I get my crazy side from my mom and my dad literally invests whatever he can into my music. He even built a studio at home in support of my music passion.”

Blessing has two other siblings, brother Dawn and sister Sharon.

Looking into the future, Blessing said she will be releasing music soon. She added that other than music, she hopes to someday become a doctor.

“Besides music, being a doctor is another career I would want to pursue within the next few months. For now, people should expect new music from me that’ll inspire other young people. I can’t wait to make people feel good with my music,” she said.

For her efforts, Blessing won a recording contract and is the ninth winner from The Voice series. She is the fourth female to win and the second youngest contestant. She became the second artiste of Zimbabwean heritage, in as many years, to be in the top three of the competition after Donel Mangena who came second in 2018.

Donel’s achievement, Blessing said, motivated her as it showed her that she could make it in the competition.

“Donel and I are very good friends now. His performances two years ago inspired me to be on stage. What also encouraged me is that he is Zimbabwean and I felt like if he could represent the country, I could do the same for my nation,” said Blessing. — @bonganinkunzi