9th December, 2011
The ambience of the ongoing Project Fame West Africa was lit up with the visit of United States of America stars, Midnight Star and SWV, who came to give moral support to the contestants.
On the other hand, the American stars and their entourage didn’t leave until the contestants and one of their instructors, Ben Ogbeiwi, entertained them with Nigerian hits.
Meanwhile, the competition is hotter now. The remaining contestants are good singers but the judges are looking out for the performance and the X factor they have to bring into the competition. So, the singers needed not only to up their game to please the judges but also to escape elimination.
Conspicuously absent at the eviction performance was the Academy Principal, award winning actress, Joke Silver, who is fondly referred to as Mummy J.
The show kicked off as Ghana’s Ethel did a smooth presentation of Lucky Dube’s Different Colours as the other contestants performed the same songs that landed them on probation a week earlier, one after the other.
Surprisingly, the highest vote from viewers went to Roy and that was how the last guy standing escaped elimination. Ethel found favour in the face of the judges as they gladly saved her; Ese was saved by the Faculty.
Monica and Ruth were the contestants not on probation; it was therefore their turn to save the last contestant. While Monica voted Rachael, Ruth voted Yvonne and the need to break the tie came and the contestant saved by the viewers was called to do this. Roy, with much thought, saved Yvonne and that marked the exit of Liberia’s Princess and Rachael from the competition.
When asked how they both felt about their exit, Princess obviously felt bad but still did not forget to send all appreciation to God Almighty, for bringing her this far. Rachael, in her own words, said “I never imagined I’ll be here at a point in my life where I didn’t believe I could do anything, but here I am. God loves me.”
The evening show came to an end as they both performed Whitney Houston and Cece Winnan’s Count on me.
The following day was dubbed Duets and Naija Hits.
The race to the grand finale has begun and the remaining contestants are up for the competition. On another evening when they have to sing their way to escape elimination, a breath-taking performance of Olori-Oko, by Infinity, ushered in the night of Duets and Naija Hits. With Adora and Joseph dressed in simple but precise native attire, the night started off in a grand style with the duets and first to perform was Roy and Yvonne, doing Onyeka Onwenu and Sunny Ade’s Wait for me. The judges commended their team work and the smooth performance. The duo of Ethel and Ese got Bibie Brew’s accolade after beautifully performing Miracle by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. It was simply an amazing one with a beautiful harmony blend and robust team spirit.
Ruth and Monica were not only a beautiful sight to behold, but also a mesmerizing duo. Who performed ‘Yori yori Remix’ by Bracket with a lot of energetic display. Though the judges felt they performed well but did not really sing the song. The faculty begged to differ with this conclusion, but without mincing words, that performance got everyone yearning for more.
After a brief break, the contestants took to the floor again but this time performing Naija hits, bringing the show to a point of climax and ecstasy. Yvonne was first to take up the challenge with Jodie’s ‘Kuchi Kuchi’. In her beautiful African dress with sombrero hat, she did not get deterred by the strain in her voice due to the cold condition she had suffered. She rocked the stage. Ese effortlessly delivered Waje’s ‘For a minute’ and next was Ethel who in her bright floral Ankara skirt and denim shirt brought a beautiful R&B feel to Wizkid’s ‘Holla at your boy’. Ruth did ‘Kele Kele love’ by Tiwa Salvage. Roy and Monica brought the show to a fever pitch point of excitement when they individually took the stage with D’banj’s ‘Scapegoat’ and Tuface Idibia’s ‘Only Me’ respectively.
Kwame could not hold back and he was forced to say Roy has come from ‘Ibadan to Mo hits’ after enjoying every bit of this performance. For Monica, Kwame promised to call Tuface Idibia’s management for a remix by Monica. The faculty felt really proud of her and was on their feet even before she finished the song.
The fate of these sensational six as they are now referred to in Project Fame 4 now lie in the hands of viewers, as anyone with the highest number of votes will be crowned winner.
—Bayo Adetu