Nicho is a guiding light for fresh, young talent
FOURWAYS – A seasoned singer, actor, and director, Nicho Barnard may be young but his experience and expertise in the entertainment industry have fashioned him into a guiding light on major talent platforms in South Africa.
The 25-year-old Fourways resident was recently revealed as the co-host of Talent Africa – The Series alongside Nicola Ashcroft. “Talent Africa is really an incredible platform for young people. The whole competition itself is so warm and the people are fantastic.
Hosting the TV show has been fun and educational, it’s fantastic to see young people live out their dreams,” Barnard said. The seven-part series is set to hit our screens on 5 September and gives the audience a glimpse into the journey of young performers as they follow their dreams in the entertainment and performing arts industries through the international competition.
“The whole goal is to give viewers a glimpse of what Talent Africa is about, we didn’t go the standard route, it shows all stages of the competition and what goes on behind the scenes – audiences can look forward to seeing the whole process and experience,” said Barnard. “It’s like putting the audience right there with the contestants and experiencing the whole journey.”
He said the performance bug bit him when he was 10 years old when he won his first talent competition, and he has seen his love for performing arts and the entertainment industry grow since then. Although he has racked up a number of achievements spanning along the entertainment continuum, he said the road travelled was not all glitz and glam.
“The entertainment industry is really difficult. I’m not going to sugar-coat it. It might be glitz and glam but there’s more to that. It’s hard work, you need to be determined and push when everyone else is giving up.
You need to wake up every morning and have the same goal and passion. You’re going to get things thrown at you from all directions, but, you really just need to believe in yourself.” Barnard said a need to constantly learn and improve his skill set has pushed him to keep his flame and passion alight as he takes on his journey to be the ultimate showrunner.
“Waking up every single morning and doing what I love and changing people’s lives is what excites me and fills. Whenever the going gets tough I remind myself why I started, how hard I worked to get where I am and how I’m still working every single day to keep it up.”
ALSO READ: Children get really creative with Canon and Get It
