Apr 5, 2007

Idols West Africa - Omodele goes home

Omodele Fatoki, the youngest contestant in the Idols West Africa top 10, is out! She was one of the two contestants who got the wildcard votes from the judges. Her rendition of "Here and now" by Luther Vandross started off quite well and she put some impressive twists in the song ... however towards the end, she kind of lost it and tended to go flat. Watching her previous performances, it's obvious she chose the wrong song. In an interview which she granted later, she said "I wasn’t feeling too well. I believe this is how far God wants me to go in this show and He has something bigger for me". A statement which displayed true team spirit. She will be returning to school to complete her studies in Internal Relations. We hope to see her taking her dreams and her voice beyond the competition.

The best performances of the day were Jodie, Eric and Timi. Jodie as usual did a great job singing Aretha Franklin's "You make me feel like a natural woman". I expected more though but she still outdid all other female contestants by a wide margin. Timi's performance abilities came out well during his performance of Luther Vandross' "Dance with my father" which he delivered with a combination of performance and voice skill. However, his start-off key was way too high and his voice went into a strain after the modulation. Despite that, he had the crowd singing along with him in no time. Eric's performance was another good one. He added a twist to the old Boys II Men classic "End of the road" when he included a "Call & Response" towards the end of the song.

Uche did a good job with John Legend's "Used to love you". He came on stage dressed the part, and put up a great performance. A slow classic song would be the best for him next ... so his voice can be heard properly. Temitayo & Omawumi seem to be sticking with the fast songs theme - which coincidentally don't bring out the best in their voice. Temitayo's voice doesn't seem like a good one for slows and she might well be better off hiding behind fast songs but Omawumi would be better trying a slower song which will bring out her voice dynamics. The theory is "The faster the song, the more you dance, the less breath you have and thus the more shaky and unstable your voice is"

Liberian "girl with a story" Jerrilyn's performance was better than her performance in the top 24, although it seems like her story is still working for her more than her voice. Mercy and Joan were great but not the best - Mercy strained a little towards the end of her song and Joan was just plain (no tricks, no surprises). They'll both need to step up their game in their next performances. Mercy will need to work more on her performance skills. She has the voice but her performance was just average. Overall, I think the last 5 to come up did much better than the first 5. Talk about saving the best for the last. My predictions for the top three contenders are 2 of the guys (Probably Timi and Eric) and Jodie - Jodie obviously has the best voice out of all the ladies and the three guys are just great.

Another contestant will be leaving the group on Monday. My predictions are either Jerrilyn, Temitayo, Joan or Mercy. I don't see any of the guys leaving soon. Fortunately (or unfortunately), the results are usually unpredictable and are left to the voters. I'll keep my fingers crossed and wait for the performances. I hope we get to see some pleasant surprises. I see the Idols West Africa contest creating a change in the Nigerian music scene within the next few months as dropped contestants take their music beyond the competition. Watch out!

NB
For those who didn't get a chance to watch the performances, you can still do so on the Idols West Africa website here. You can also view some clips of interviews with the Top 10 contestants here. Have Fun.

9 comments:

aloted said...

Eric really surprised me! Initially I thot he was all looks and nothing more..but the broda's got a voice!! And he is so so cute...lol..
Anyway I agree with you on most of ur analysis but I dont think Timi did that great..i felt he was screaming at some point..or maybe that's how his voice is???
Right now am rooting for Jodie and Eric ;)

Vera Ezimora said...

Do any of these contestants sing African songs @ all? Abi them ban African songs?

Unknown said...

@aloted, don't mind the Timi guy. He refused to learn from his performance in the top 24. His starting key was way too high.
@Vera, those Idols sponsors are not looking for african stars. They're looking for a pop star. That's why I think it should be called Amercan Idols, West African Edition. It's not African!

Anonymous said...

Though it was a bit on the 'screamy' side, I enjoyed Omodele's performance. It was sure better than some others,even Sokari's. But did you listen to Joan!!! That girl can carry a pitch places. She initially strikes you as unassuming...until she sings. She's got international talent to me.
James was sooo good to listen to. I wish Omodele the best.

Anonymous said...

Wll, it's a shame i don't live in naija, so i can follow d show regularly.

BTW, u look like someone i know, Tayo. It just seems like i've seen u somewhere b4.

Unknown said...

@truth - Joan's got a great voice ... but her delivery was kinda average - contrary to Temitayo who does not have so great a voice but great delivery. I think she needs to work on that.
@wienna - Are you serious? Hit me an email using my contact details (right of the page) and let's discuss further. I'm waiting o

Anonymous said...

yes sir, i go 'hit' u soon.

Anonymous said...

i want jodie to win the competition.or maybe eric...or timi..or omawunmi..or uche...or lol.sometimes i think its the producers that eliminate the contestants and not the viewers.how many pple r voting?...sssh, dont say i said this o!lol

Unknown said...

@Linda, I really like Jodie too. I want her to be in the top 3. Even if she doesn't win, she'll get a record deal anyway. I believe it'll be her and 2 of the guys in the top 3. I don't know which of the guys will drop out first.