SUNGURA "king" Alick Macheso maintained his position as one of the country's best with his chart topper "Tafadzwa" being voted Radio Zimbabwe's Best Song for the Year 2011 in a competition that many listeners felt should have been won by hotshot Blessing Shumba.

"Extrabasso", as Macheso is called in music circles, scooped the coveted US$1 000 prize money with 63 votes ahead of Shumba who settled for second place with his song "Mufaro".

In third place was the late sungura musician Tongai "Dhewa" Moyo, whose song "Ndiro Yababa" posthumously earned the artiste US$500 while Pastor Charles Charamba and Leonard Zhakata emerged fourth and fifth with their songs "Nyika yeZimbabwe" and "Misodzi Yerudo" respectively.

Listeners voted through SMSs in the Coca-Cola-sponsored music competition which saw those who predicted the winners correctly winning a variety of prizes ranging from LED and LCD 40-inch television sets, JVC radios, MP3 players, CDs and Coca- Cola products, among others.

But some listeners felt that Shumba deserved the top prize arguing that he was the most played artiste in 2011.

"Most people hoped that Blessing Shumba would win because he was the most played artiste throughout the year.

"He gave Macheso a good run for his money considering that he is still new in the game and that alone shows that he has a bright future," said one listener.

One of the presenters of the Top 50 music competition - which this time was called the Radio Zimbabwe Coca- Cola Pimped Up Ride Top 50 - Patricia Jacobs (PJ) said the competition was stiff.

"The competition was tight and we thank listeners for their support. We also thank Coca-Cola because they gave value to the product," PJ, who co-presented the programme with Perfect Hlongwane, said.

Shumba said he was humbled by the number of votes he received from music fans.

 "I thank all Zimbabweans, DJs, listeners and, above all ,God for the support. I never dreamt of myself in this position and to all the great musicians who took part in the competition, I respect you," said the Mutare-based gospel artiste.

Coca-Cola spokesperson Mona Karingi said: "This was one way of thanking our customers who have rallied behind us throughout this year (2011) and because they are also music-loving people we saw it fit to promote the Top 50 music competition."