An Uneasy Road to Fame

It was a festive celebration marking the commencement of MTN Project Fame 8, but the contestants were already growing grey hairs from the strain of the competition. Vanessa Obioha reports

From all indications, the journey to fame for the 14 contestants of the MTN Project Fame 8 will not be easy. If anything, the contestants will have to give more than their vocal power. This assertion was clearly made at the opening gala when the contestants competed fiercely to enter the Academy.
From the thousands who applied, twenty-four contestants from Nigeria and West Africa got to the semi-finals. They were further pruned to 18. But 14 of them would have a chance to go head-to-head.
Friends, families, loved ones and of course music fans gathered at the Ultima Studios in Lekki, Lagos last weekend to witness the final round of the second stage of the competition.

The fanfare was electrifying. Decked in their best outfits, the music denizens flowed in and out of the venue, eager for the show to kick-start so they can know where to pitch their tent in the coming weeks. A mini-competition was being held outside the studio where youths blessed with artistic movement of the body displayed their talents. Refreshments flowed with ease as they feted, while waiting for the studio call.
Noticing the restive aura in the crowd, comedian Seyi Law was called on stage to crack the audience ribs for a while. Due to his amazing talents, the comedian left the audience in stitches for more than an hour.
The organisers surprised guests by having all its past winners perform; from Iyanya, Chidinma to the recent fame awardee Geoffrey, who is gradually breaking into the music industry.
The assertion that reality show winners hardly survive in the highly competitive Nigerian music industry may not be true for MTN Project Fame winners. They may not all be hit-makers, but the likes of Iyanya, Chidinma and Praiz who was a runner-up in the first edition have made an impact. It was a home-coming for the past winners who performed back-to-back at the ceremony.
The General Manager, Consumer Marketing, MTN Nigeria, Richard Iweanoge, attested to this by stating that Project Fame was one of MTN’s platforms dedicated to supporting the growth of music in the country through talent discovery.
“MTN has an unwavering commitment towards supporting the development of the music industry in Nigeria. We are delighted that Project Fame in the last eight years has helped us to achieve this purpose,” he said.
Also, the organisers seem to have raised the reality show by several rungs. A copious evidence of this is the creative TVC about the contestants. The TVC describes the contestants in catchy and friendly phrases and images that elicit the true feeling of being a champion in a contest like the MPF.
Speaking of championship, the music video of ‘Champion’ a song written by Cobhams Asuquo and performed by the ‘Exceptional 8’ of last season was screened to the audience’s delight.
This season will also see the works of the academy new choreographer, Loveth Otegbola, whose group dazzled the audience with their eclectic performance.
While the judges, hosts and faculty members remain the same, the contestants however will have to go beyond their singing capabilities and prove that they can become superstars.
Joke Silva, head of the faculty, emphasised that one of the traits they will look for is longevity in the industry besides the conventional speech classes and other lessons they will be taught in the academy.
She highlighted short life-span of artistes as one of the problems facing the industry. If the teachers are able to instill this trait in the budding talents, then they would have their names etched in platinum.
The contestants too were an interesting mix as they cut across different disciplines. From the sciences to the creative art world, certainly, creativity will be highly paraded at the competition.
Called out in groups of threes, the judges passed their verdict on the 18 contestants. Although they had watched them perform at auditions and the semi-finals, the finalists were mostly judged by their 40-seconds presentation that night. They spoke about themselves, dreams, threats and the competition generally. Out of the 18, 12 were selected.
The tough call went to Jacquelyn, Dipo, Anderson, Deinde, Mide, and Henry who had to perform one last time for a slot in the final. They returned on stage with their song of pleas: From Henry’s performance of Phil Collins ‘Paradise’ to Deinde’s performance of Ben E. King ‘Stand by Me’.

After the resounding applause that greeted Anderson’s performance of Elton John’s ‘Circle of Life’ in that rich baritone, poor Mide could hardly hold his ground as he performed John Legend’s ‘This Time’. It was a devastating period for the young lad but he managed to end his performance.
The judges also had a hard time selecting the last two to join the 12. At the end, Deinde and Anderson scaled through, making the number of contestants 14, instead of 15 in past seasons.

Chike Osebuka Ezekpeazu, Deinde Okubajo, Deborah Ohiri Oluwamayowa, Jeffrey Ufedo Akor, Jennifer Chioma Amadi, Adanoritsewo Gold Tosanwumi,  Funmilayo Comfort Arewa, Emmanuel Amos Anderson, Stephen Sackitey Okletey Biko, Joy Chukwuma and Olanma Pearl Awa-Agwu, Amma Korantema Kumi, Richie Tay, Tejiri Odjighoro were given an uphill task to impress the judges.

The strain of the competition could be seen on the contestants. Well, clinching the grand prize of N5m, a brand new SUV and a recording deal worth millions of Naira does not come easy. The first runner up will get a saloon car and N3m. The second runner up will be awarded a brand new saloon car along with N1m while the third runner up will receive a cash prize of N1m.

A new prize category: the funniest video category is added to the competition this season. The public is expected to make funny videos from auditions of this season which are already viral. The winner of this category will be announced in the fifth week of the contest.