South African-based gospel artist Togarepi Chivaviro said that his record-breaking Top 50 votes on Radio Zimbabwe are a result of his interaction with his fans.
Chivaviro’s hit song, Matishamisa Jireh won the top spot on the annual Radio Zimbabwe Coca Cola Top 50 charts, where it garnered a record 432 321 votes.
By way of comparison, in the previous year, Mutare-based gospel musician Blessing Shumba, who came tops, accumulated 140 256 votes. Speaking from the United States of America where he is currently on tour, Chavaviro said:
We resolved to change our supporters from being fans to being a family; I began to interact with them more, creating registered databases, celebrating with those who celebrated, mourning with those in hard times, helping the needy, hence the amazing results.
I am not sure whether there is any secret in this success, but one thing I know is we have a heavy social media presence.
Remember, a couple of years ago we had one of the most played songs in the country-Ebenezer, but never won despite its popularity. I never thought that we were going to break any record.
Chivaviro became a household name after his hit song Ebenezer-Tiri Munyasha hit the airwaves.