Tug of war as contestants
besiege Star Quest screening
By TOSIN AJIRIRE
Saturday, April
5, 2008
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•Star
Quest’s Da Jewels performing on stage
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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It was scrambling and shuffling galore as contestants besieged
regional screening centres for this year’s edition of
Star Quest. It was one big battle of survival as the contestants
took over all roads and adjourning streets around the screening
centres in Jos, Abuja, Enugu, Benin and Lagos.
In Lagos, residents of Salvation Road where NiteShift Coliseum
venue of the regional screening is located had a hectic time
accessing their homes for the four days the screening lasted
as contestants were seen loitering around in large groups
discussing what would be their fate in the popular music talent
hunt which is expected to hit television screens on April
20.
Over 12,000 applied and over 4,000 were short listed for regional
screenings which were completed last Monday but, those who
would make it to Star Fame Land when its doors open on April
12 may prove a Herculean task for the judges made up of Ruggedman,
Weird MC, KC Presh, Albert Kalu and Glory Williams. They would
require the wisdom of Solomon, apart from their professionalism,
to rate the numerous talents they had to consider.
From vocalists, drummers, saxophonists, keyboardists to guitarists
and trumpeters, it was a story of hard choice as the contestants
gave a good account of themselves rendering various genres
of music.
36 finalists are expected to emerge from these regional screenings
to begin their quest at Star Fame land. The contestants will
form bands on their own from their interaction with each other.
Six bands will emerge from this process with each band made
up of individuals with different musical skills. These six
bands will be expected to create and produce their own original
music on which basis they will be evaluated by the viewing
public.
The bands will contest against each other and three bands
will be eliminated in the first elimination round. This will
be fully broadcast on national television and elimination
will be decided by public voting via SMS.
The three remaining bands will move on to the national final.
The final event will be broadcast live on NTA and AIT networks
on Saturday, May 10, 2008. The winning band will again be
decided 100% by live public voting via SMS.
For Sampson Oloche, Senior Brand Manager, Star lager, the
quest is to create the hottest musical band in Nigeria with
the participation of the general public.
According to him, Star Quest, launched in 2002 and which has
so far produced KC Presh, D’accord and Da Jewels is
getting bigger and better every year and this increasing interest
has also been confirmed by the high quality and number of
contestants this year.
The winning band this year would go home with a whooping N5
million recording contract, N2.1 million cash. A mini van
and one year guaranteed accommodation in Lagos.
In addition, the winning band will also participate in the
upcoming 2008 Star Trek and the Star Mega Jam as performing
artistes. This would be the fourth edition of Star Quest and
the winning band is expected to take over from Da Jewels band
that won the talent hunt in 2007.
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