PROJECT FAME CONTESTANTS PAY HOMAGE TO ONYEKA ONWENU

The remaining 10 contestants in the third season of MTN Project Fame paid homage to the veteran singer-songwriter, Onyeka Onwenu and other legendary African acts.

Last week the Nigerian diva was on hand to lecture the contestants and

assess their performance by being this week’s celebrity/guest judge.

A day after two contestants (Helen and Vwede) were eliminated from the

show, the contestants stepped on stage to perform and save themselves

from possible elimination this week. The first contestant was Adebola

who performed Hallelujah by Onyeka. Vocal coach, Ige commended her for

bringing out her personality in the song and delivering the song

accurately even though she isn’t Igbo. The second contestant who

graced the stage was Eyo who performed the classic hit, Ifeoma by

Felix Lebarty. After his performance, Onyeka observed that he was an

entertainer but he was missing the voice quality and that he was going

off in some parts.

Jocelia sang Let Me Love You and Bibie told her that she has a great

voice but her performance felt like a rehearsal and that she needs to

be more confident. Kaffy however did praise her for experimenting with

her movement. The hot contestant from Ghana Kesse was next up and

after his rendition he was praised by Kwame for giving 110% of himself

into his performance Kwame wondered if Kesse should be in the

competition or he should just go and release and album. The fifth

contestant Christian was also from Ghana. Christian performed the

highlife tune Bonsue which could arguably be rated as his best

performance so far in the Academy. His performance was so on point

that Onyeka was visibly excited. She later said that Christian

“inhabited the song to the minutest note” and that he performed like a

master of the genre.

Chidinma performed Ekwe by Onyeka which earned her standing ovation

from the audience. After the thunderous applause, Onyeka said that her

“costume was appropriate and her mood was appropriate. She was sassy,

cheeky, strong, and bold and she thoroughly enjoyed herself.” Tolu

sang another of Onyeka’s timeless tunes You and I. His was another

performance that moved the crowd. His performance earned 3 gbosas!

from the audience. Onyeka couldn’t hide her feelings. “Music can make

you fall in love with someone. I think I have fallen in love with him.

I don’t mind doing a duet with you” gushed Onyeka. Rhoda performed Hot

Hot Hot and Onyeka commented that she was convincing.

Omo Ibadan a.k.a Yetunde was the ninth contestant to perform, she sang

Ja Fun Mi by King Sunny Ade. After her impressive performance she was

commended by Onyeka for using KSA’s singing style well and that her

movement was on point. She concluded by saying that it felt like

watching a female KSA performing. Ochuko was the last contestant to

hit the stage, He sang Afro-juju by Shina Peters. His performance

raised the roof. Bibie said his showmanship was absolutely perfect.

Ige went on to further add that his breath control was impeccable.

VWEDE, HELEN EVICTED FROM PROJECT FAME ACADEMY!

“The show goes on” Femi Ayeni of Ultima studios told journalists last

week after the fire outbreak, and true to his words, the show

continues with Vwede and Helen being the next to leave the academy.

Last week, to the surprise of ardent followers, none of the remaining

12 contestants was evicted from the MTN sponsored franchise, but this

week, Christian, Rhoda, Ochuko, Helen, Christian and Vwede had the

lowest votes and were up for eviction

As is the tradition, these contestants were given another chance to

prove to the audience, faculty and contestants that they deserved

another chance. The judges saved Rhoda; the Faculty saved Christian,

while the contestants saved Christian.

This is the third time in a roll that the judges will save Rhoda.

To bid their fellow contestants and the fans farewell, Helen performed

Awilo Longomba’s Coupe Bimbaba while Vwede performed Victor Uwaifo’s

Jolomi.

23 year old Helen Pajebo Jackson is a student of Royal Institute,

Monrovia. She is married to Joseph and loves singing, cooking and

listening to the news. She loves songs by Brandy

Vwede Akpoguma is an Engineering graduate of the University of Benin.

He loves swimming, reading, playing scrabble and listening to the

news.

So far, eight contestants have now been evicted, as it continues to

show to viewers and the remaining contestants that the academy is like

a jungle and only those with the highest votes will survive. Lindsey,

Gold, Samuel, Modele, Monica, Shehu, Helen and Vwede are out of the

competition, leaving 10 contestants to battle for the grand prize.

With this being its third season, the franchise show is stepping

several notches higher. The winner of this year’s PF will be going

home with N2.5M, a brand new Toyota RAV4 and a recording contract. The

1st runner up is set to win home with N1.5M and a Toyota Corolla while

the 2nd runner up will win N1M and a Toyota Yaris. The 3rd runner up

will end up with N1m

MTV & BHARTI AIRTEL SIGN PARTNERSHIP TO BRING MAMA TO LAGOS

MTV Networks Africa (MTVNA) and Bharti Airtel have confirmed that they will be holding the 2010 MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA) in Lagos, Nigeria.   MTVNA’s jubilant celebration of contemporary African music and creativity will be held at the EKO EXPO Hall, Lagos on 11 December 2010, focusing the spotlight on Africa’s most outstanding musicians, from the heart of one of the continent’s most vibrant cities. 

The 2010 MTV Africa Music Awards with Airtel will take the form of a stunning live music event and global television spectacular, featuring performances from contemporary African and international music giants and hosted by a major music celebrity. Artists from around the continent will battle to win a coveted MAMA trophy in one of twelve award categories including: Best Male, Best Female, Best Video, Best Group, Artist of the Year, Best Lusophone Act, Best Anglophone Act, Best Francophone Act, Song of the Year, Brand: New Act, Best International Act and MAMA Legend.  

Telecommunications giant Airtel comes on board as the headline sponsor of the MTV Africa Music Awards 2010, signalling the telco’s profound commitment to African music and youth culture following its purchase of Zain Africa’s business operations earlier this year. The sponsorship was announced by Andre Beyers, Chief Marketing Officer, Airtel Africa and Alex Okosi, Senior Vice President & Managing Director, MTV Networks Africa.

Sponsorship of the MAMA will provide Airtel with unique brand exposure across multiple platforms including live event activations across the continent.  A key component of the partnership will be the development of exclusive mobile and data content for the Airtel subscribers in sub-Saharan Africa including wallpapers and various downloads. 

Commented Alex Okosi, Senior Vice President & Managing Director, MTV Networks Africa, “We are thrilled to be partnering with Airtel to bring the MTV Africa Music Awards with Airtel to Lagos for the first time and look forward to delivering the most exciting MAMA yet on 11 December.”

Said Mr. Beyers, “Airtel is proud to be at the forefront in nurturing talent in Africa and connecting the passions of millions of youth across the continent through music. Our support for the MAMA awards is founded on our commitment to empower the youth through initiatives that will help Africa to identify and celebrate talent.” 

Conceived in 2008 as the ultimate celebration of African contemporary music talent, the MTV Africa Music Awards with Airtel provides a major promotional platform for the African music industry, championing, supporting and empowering African talent by broadcasting their music around the world via MTV’s global multimedia network.  

The awards celebrate contemporary African and international genres loved by the youth and young adults across sub-Saharan Africa including Hip Hop, Hip Life, R&B, Afro Pop, Afro House, Kwaito, Boomba, Bongo Flava, Coupé Décalé, Dancehall, Soul and Rock.   

The inaugural MAMA was held at the Velodrome, Abuja in 2008, while October 2009 saw the awards move to Nairobi, Kenya, with performances from 2Face (Nigeria), Amani (Kenya), A.Y. (Tanzania), Blu3 (Uganda), Brickz (South Africa), Da LES (South Africa), D’Banj (Nigeria), Fally Ipupa (DRC), HHP (South Africa), Lizha James (Mozambique), M.I. (Nigeria), Mo’ Hits Allstars (Nigeria), Nameless (Kenya), Pype (Nigeria), Samini (Ghana), STL (Kenya), Lira (South Africa), Wahu (Kenya) and Zebra & Giraffe (South Africa), alongside international stars Wyclef Jean and Akon.

Past winners have included 2-FACE (Nigeria), Nameless (Kenya), Samini (Ghana), Wahu (Kenya), HHP (South Africa), D’Banj (Nigeria) and Patricke-Stevie Moungondo (Congo Brazzaville).

WWTBAM AND PROJECT FAME GET NEW HOUSE

In the words of Ultima Studios CEO, Femi Ayeni, "...the show must go on..." This statement was after, a mysterious fire razed the ultra-modern studios on Sunday evening. While, many thought, that was the end of the popular shows, the producers of Project Fame West Africa and Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? is further exhibiting the "We Can Do" spirit as it takes the shows notcher to a new site.
Though, it has not been made official, I gathered productions will now be at 1, Bamako street, Ojodu street, a stone throw from the Murhi House in Omole.
Investigations say the new studio was used during the world cup by the Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria throughout the duration of the fiesta.
So viewers, are in for a roller coaster ride, as the Project Fame West Africa goes into its final five week.
However, you could still vote for your favourite contestant for them to remain in house and possibly win the star prize.

STARS STORM BENIN FOR LANCELOT IMASUEN

Top stars and celebrities will be enroute the ancient city of Benin on 18th of september for the premiere of ace filmmaker, Lancelot Imasuen's block buster movie entitled "Triumphant Home Coming".

The flick which is popularly known as 'Home in Exile' centres around the inherent selfish nature of man, and talks of how we extol tradition when it favors us and abhor it when it comes against us. The plot of the movie is about Desmond Elliot(Dave)’s fiancée Beverly Naya(Julie) who had to marry Desmond Elliot’s father the king, a repercussion of her sitting on the king’s stool which is supposed to be an abomination, with this development the prince is up against the king.

Although yet to appear in cinemas, Home in Exile has enjoyed professional applause proven by the awards accorded it at the Terracota Awards.

Lancelot Imasuen’s first film Ebuwa had over 32 stars in attendance including the Edo state commissioner for information but Triumphant Home Coming is set to raise the bar a notch higher as a high number of dignitaries and celebrities are expected at the event, including; Omotola Jalade Ekehinde who happens to be married to a son of the Edo soil, there is also Joke Silva, RMD, Sam Dede and many more.

Home in Exile was directed by Lancelot Imasuen himself and featured a lot of Hollywood stars like Desmond Eliot, Justus Esiri, Chiwetalu Agwu, Fransis Duru, Uche Jumbo, and so many more.

Alongside the premiere of the movie, the Director, Lancelot Imasuen will be launching Project One-o-One, a project borne out of his passion to see upcoming actors succeed. The project is targeted at fresh faces in Nollywood who need counsels and mentoring from established persons who in th entertainment industry.

Do not also forget Lancelot Imaseum in collaboration with Stingomania is cooking a movie to chronicle the life of the late Nigerian rapper, Dagrin.

"THE SHOW MUST CONTINUE..." -PROJECT FAME WEST AFRICA PRODUCERS

Aftermath the mysterious fire that ravaged Ultima Studios on Sunday August 22, 2010, the producers of the popular WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE? and MTN PROJECT FAME WEST AFRICA season 3 says it will continue with programmes as scheduled.
Eyewitnesses say they noticed the fire at about 8:15pm behind one of the building that houses the studios and when they tried to help, they were stopped.


That night hundreds of youths and fans of the programme swarmed the compound to assist the fire service who they say arrived late. The fire service and Lagos Emergency unit promised they will spend the night to contain the fire.
 

According to the statement, a recording for WWTBAM had just ended, when crew members noticed a minor fire, late Sunday. But what started as a little ball soon turned
into huge flames as extinguishers failed to contain the fire.

Staff and contestants who were housed in the Academy were promptly evacuated. There were no injuries nor lives lost. However, both the studios for WWTBAM and MTN Project Fame West Africa were badly hit and invaluable equipment lost to the inferno.

Ultima CEO, Femi Ayeni, told reporters on the site, Sunday, “although the incident is catastrophic and the loss shattering, we’re grateful to God that no lives were lost. The contestants are safe and we are confident that the show will go on, and in no time at all we will be back on air so keep watching.”

Early visitors to the site included MTN’s GM Consumer Marketing, Kola Oyeyemi. MTN, Nigeria’s largest telecoms company, is the sole sponsor for WWTBAM and the title sponsors for Project Fame.  “This is a monumental disaster. We can’t even begin to comprehend the personal, emotional and material loss. But in all we thank God that no lives were lost. MTN is committed to enriching lives through our different services, properties and initiatives and we are already discussing with our partners at Ultima on how to make sure this tragedy does not distract us”.









We also sighted Chairman Ojodu Local Government, Abiodun Faleke who was around to see that the fire service do their job. 

The producers say, Ultima is determined to take this incident in its stride and plans are on to return to full and enhanced production of WWTBAM and PFWA.

P-SQUARE SEALS DEAL WITH GLO

Twin duo Paul and Peter Okoye popularly known as P-Square have sealed a  mouth-watering deal which said to be worth about N240 million deal with telecommunication giants, Globacom.

A close source revealed to me that deal is a four-year contract and the multiple award-winning twin brothers were officially unveiled as the new ambassadors of the Mike Adenuga owned telecommunications outfit in Lagos on wednesday 18th, but he refused to disclose the amount involved.

With the deal, P-Square has joined other Glo ambassadors which include, entertainers like Uche Jombo, Rita Dominic, Mike Ezuruonye, Desmond Elliot, Monalisa Chinda, Funke Akindele, Sammy Okposo, Nonso Diobi,Ramsey Nouah among others.

According to the Group Chief Operating Officer of Glo, Mr. Mohammed Jameel, the list of the company’s ambassadors could not be complete without P-Square, saying “that is why we are proud to present them as the new Glo ambassadors today.”

He said further that for some years now, Globacom has been watching with keen interest, the exploits of the Okoye brothers in the local and international music scene, and could not help, but include them on its list of ambassadors.

Reacting to the new deal, the Danger crooners expressed their joy and satisfaction, stressing that they would continue to play good music and make Nigeria proud.

Months ago, the group emerged the Best African Act at the coveted KORA All Africa Music Awards held in Burkina Faso walking home with the mouth-watering sum of $1million (N150million) which the award category attracted.

Also, the 29 year-old twin singers moved into their N300 million mansion in Lola Holloway Street, Omole Estate Phase 1 after their former landlord embarrassed them publicly for not owning the house as they made the world believe.  The singers also added another feather in their cap when they acquired four brand new automobiles; two Range Rover Sports, one X6 BMW and a Jaguar, all 2010 models, estimated at about N65million. 

SOUL AND ROCK NIGHT AT THE PROJECT FAME

 Last weekend’s performance night was dedicated to soul, soft rock and alternative music. The remaining 12 contestants sang musical numbers within these genres and performed to the best of their ability hoping that they will not get axed in next week’s eviction show.

The anchor of the highly popular franchise game show “Who wants to be a millionaire” Frank Edoho was the fifth celebrity judge this weekend. Edoho sat with the show’s regular judges; Kwame, Bibie, TY Mix and Nomoreloss. Together they did their thing as they rated the performances of the contestants. 

The first contestant to perform was Adebola, who was saved by the Faculty on saturday. She performed Natural Woman and set the ball rolling for the night’s event. The next performance was by this season’s underdog Yetunde. She sang the popular hit Big Girls Don’t Cry by Fergie and received a standing ovation from the audience. She was however told to work on her diction by TY Mix. Next up was Eyo who sang Three Times A Lady. Even though his performance was praised, Bibie told him to work on his breath control before he could truly master the tricky song. Jocelia sang Diana Ross’ hit song It’s My House and Frank Edoho commented that she did justice to the song. 

The fifth contestant Kesse sang Knocking on Heaven’s Door and much like his performances this season was on point and received another standing ovation. Rhoda sang Runaway by The Coors and gave a spectacular rendition of it. Frank Edoho commended her for singing a song sung by a group while Ige said that her performance gave her goose bumps. The next contestant was Vwede who performed Take My Breath Away. After his performance he was criticized by Nomoreloss for giving a staccato performance to a melodious song. Kaffy however felt he was able to key into the emotion of the song. The eighth performance was by Tolu and he sang First Cut Is the Deepest. He ended his performance with a kiss and received a standing ovation. Music Director Ben Ogbeiwi commented on Tolu’s performance saying that he set the standard for this season’s performances.   

Next up was Ochuko who sang One More Night. TY Mix felt he could have done better and needed to work on his notes but Joke Silva commended him for putting up a good effort despite having a sprained ankle. Christian sang If You Don’t Know Me By Now by Simply Red and was categorically told by the judges that he sacrificed his performance for showmanship. Helen sang Like A Prayer by Madonna and her performance was slightly above average. They say big things come in little packages and contestant Chidinma proved that when she rocked the whole house by performing I Want to Know What Love Is.  

Throughout the performances the judges and the members of the faculty clashed on several occasions. Kwame was irked when Ben stated that the show was no longer just about singing. Later on Kwame stated that the faculty members had suddenly turned to cheerleaders making up excuses for the contestants. Joke Silva replied that they were not making excuses for them but stating the facts. Nomoreloss said he didn’t care if any contestant was not feeling good or they had lost their voice, the show has to go on. 

LAGBAJA ROCKS AT THE PROJECT FAME

For those of you that have not been following the Project Fame West Africa, this is your link.

Lagbaja rocked the house at Ultima Studios where Project Fame is produced. The masked one performed his hit songs ‘Nothing for You’ and Gele Skentele.

The highly innovative musician did his thing on stage after the remaining 14 contestants performed some of his popular numbers and other songs by different artistes within the same genre. Apart from performing on stage, Lagbaja was a celebrity judge who appraised and criticized the performances of the contestants.

Most of the contestants did a good job in their performances. It could be easily seen that Lagbaja was a source of influence to many of the contestants. One of the contestants Shehu even dressed like him in his usual masked attire.

After the contestants performed their songs, Lagbaja picked up his saxophone and performed much to the delight of the audience. Lagbaja broke through the music industry in 1993 with his self-titled debut album Lagbaja. 

In case you don’t know so far four contestants have been evicted. Gold, Lindsey, Modele and Samuel.

However, the show has been consistent bringing top stars to mentor, rehearse and train with the contestants. 

Before, Lagbaja who is a regular artiste to the project fame, Asa and Samini have also graced this year’s Project Fame with their presence. One can only guess which celebrity will make an appearance next week.

Voting is currently going on and you can vote for your favourite contestant by texting his number to 305 from an MTN line. Each text costs N50. Last weekend Modele and Samuel were kicked off from the show after being a part of the contestants with the lowest public votes and after failing to be saved by the judges, the faculty and their fellow contestants.

From Monday to Friday you can watch the contestants as they live their life in the Performance Academy in 30 minute episodes. Project Fame is currently showing on several TV stations in the country.

LATE NIGHT WITH 'THE TEJU BABYFACE SHOW'

Late night just got more exciting with the coming of The Teju Babyface Show.

The comedian whose real names are Teju Oyinlakin describes the show as “a divine call from God” comes at a time when colleagues Tee A and Alibaba are on the verge of launching their own independent TV shows. 

And the fans are the beneficiaries as these gentlemen bring back life to late night TV

With Teju thrilling us with a parade of first class guests like KSA, T.W.O, Dele Momodu, Asa, 2face, Pat Utomi, the David Letterman type show is gradually becoming the favorite of TV viewers in Nigeria.

With a fresh new twist to a genre popularized by comic idols David Letterman, Ellen DeGeneres and Johnny Carson, Oyelakin effortlessly mixes humor with life style and personality as he gets up-close and rib- cracking personal with celebrity guest in no-holds barred battle of wits.

A child of necessity, TBFS debuted on May 4, 2010 as an engaging talk show with a difference, and immediately got pundits and critics talking. A Comedytainment, TBFS provides fun and entertainment to TV viewers across the country and beyond.

According to Teju, “We are breaking new grounds; nobody has done this before in our industry, as far as I know. On the show, we bring in some serious issues and present them in a comic way to make people conscious of such issues, as well as entertain them too”

Teju BabyFace has had his hands on a lot of Entertainment materials spanning through acting to modeling, comedy and most recently a talk show. A graduate of the University of Lagos, Mr. Oyelakin has over the years redefined his brand, and giving fans and critics bit and pieces of what he has to offer.