MTN Project Fame Season 5 Peaks as Grace and Joshua Bow Out

In a week of outstanding performances, the MTN Project Fame West Africa Season 5 is beginning to peak with breath-taking moments. From the E-Center, Sabo, Yaba, where the remaining 11 contestants in the academy met their fans in a ‘meet and greet’ session, to the Ultima Studios in Lekki for the eviction show and performances, there was no basis for comparison as the show beat the imagination of the viewers across West Africa.

The thrills were extensive as Nigerian Grace Mark and Ghanaian Joshua Effriye were evicted, even as Ella was voted into the academy from the Youtube wild-card entries. However, the performances where the other nine contestants performed different traditional African songs capped an interesting week.

There was a throng at the E-Center, Commercial Avenue, Sabo, Yaba, on 29^th of August 2012 when the MTN Project Fame Season 5 Contestants met their fans to chat, sign auto-graphs and pose for photographs. Some of the fans at the event acknowledged the exceptional talents of the contestants. Janet, a student of the University of Lagos, said, ‘it is hard to admit that the same contestants on parade today were the same set that came into the academy four weeks ago because of the amazing improvements we have witnesses so far’.

However, at the eviction show held on Saturday, 1^st of September, 2012, inside the Ultima Studios in Lekki, Ella beat the remaining four wild card entrants to gain an unusual admittance into the academy. In a keenly contested entry that required the judges’ verdict, she was near tears when she was announced as the popular choice.

Meanwhile, the show shifted to the performances of the five contestants who were on probation. These were Joshua, Didi, Grace, Chinyere and Adetoun. After each performed the previous week’s songs, it was time for elimination. The judges saved Chinyere while faculty opted for Adetoun. From the remaining three, the majority of the other contestants voted for Didi. Consequently, Joshua and Grace were evicted from the academy.

The antention of viewers across West Africa shifted to the performance show dubbed ‘African Week’, which was held a day after the eviction show; music enthusiats were thrilled to traditional performances, props and grooves that speak volumes of the rich content of African culture. There was hardly a better place to be than the show; witnessing the magical wands of Adetoun performing legendary Salawa Abeni ‘Fuji Waka’ and Marvellous singing Duncan Mighty’s ‘Obianuju’ besides other graceful performances by the other contestants.

The MTN Project Fame West Africa has become a reference point for reality TV shows in Africa. It is a platform that unravels the vast talents resident in African youths through music.

The Academy which runs for a minimum of ten weeks provides contestants with all the tools necessary for musical success on the global stage. Little wonder, discoveries like Iyanya and Chidimma are doing so well. Obviously, as admitted by Kola Oyeyemi, General Manager, Consumer Marketing, MTN Nigeria, MTN Project Fame West Africa is ‘a music refinery where extraordinary performers are groomed’.

Now with another eviction show coming up this weekend, viewers across West Africa still hold the power to keep their favorite contestants in the academy by texting their unique numbers to 306 in Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone while those in Ghana can use 1740 from an MTN line. This season is really redefining reality TV shows amid exceptional performances and innovations with special feelings.