Idols West Africa - Jodie Exits!

The greatest shocker so far awaited viewers of Idols West Africa this week as 23 year old Jodie Odiete received the least votes and thus her exit. Believed by many to be the strongest contender for the West African Idols title, Jodie really had a lot going for her. She had the strongest and most dynamic female voice in the top 10, and she could take her songs to limits others couldn't. From her performance in the top 24 to her very last performance, she has always captivated the audience. She was the first contestant to bring the judges (and the audience) to a standing ovation and she did this during two consecutive performances. (the only other person to do this is Timi). It's safe to say she had no rival in the top 10 in terms of voice quality and dynamism and it's really sad that she has to go.

This week, she performed Angelique Kidjo's song "Adouma", a typical Angelique Kidjo upbeat song. Her performance was great from beginning to end. She threw in a couple of extras which included some sustained high and low pitches, an interlude during which she performed some vibrant dancing and a short call and response session. She was able to combine both dancing and singing without compromising one for the other. Her performance was "Wow" and her vocals were great. Unfortunately, the ecstatic crowd apparently couldn't make their votes count and Jodie had to go. Her words when she heard the result of the votes were "It's over now, it's over now, I feel like I can make it, the storm is over now" which she delivered through Kirk Franklin's song "It's over now". I know it's not over for her, and I know with all certainty, we shall be hearing more from her very soon.

This week, the performers had to sing around the theme "Home grown African tracks". Top performances for me were Jodie and Omawumi. Omawumi performed Onyeka Onwenu's "Ekwe". She came on stage dressed the part of a native Igbo maid and started off her performance with some Igbo greetings. The energy of her performance matched the feel of the song and it was little wonder the crowd was screaming when she ended. Unlike previous weeks, she made good connection with the audience. However, she went off key a couple of times and her only savior was her good come-back abilities. She needs to really work on her key change imperfections.

I was not too impressed by Timi and Eric's performances this week. Timi sang "Oruka" by Sunny Nneji and he started off well, but apparently not used to Yoruba songs, he got some pronunciations wrong and messed up totally by going off beat. He was able to recover after some time and managed to end well. This he did by stylishly introducing his own lines towards the end of the song and thereafter synchronizing with the soundtrack. Eric who performed "Olomi" by Tosin Martyns did an average job with the song. There was not much strength and vigour in his performance. In addition, he did not connect with the audience the way the song demanded. However, he pulled his usual stunt of modulating before the final chorus and this geared up his performance a little.

Temitayo performed "Agolo" by Angelique Kidjo and she came in elegantly dressed sporting an "African" hairstyle. Her performance was OK but she focused too much on dancing and shaking and didn't use her voice to it's full potential. She exhibited a good attitude and put some energy into her dance steps, which was good for the song. Overall delivery was average. Jerilyn also performed an Angelique Kidjo song - "Wombolombo" which she delivered in an average kind of way. Her confidence level was way below average, and she didn't put enough energy into the song. She didn't use her voice well, she's capable of doing better. There were no tricks, no dynamics, she sang like she was waiting for the song to end.

There was a guest in the house in person of Asa, a Nigerian singing sensation who recently won the award for "Best New Artist" at the RFI France and Hip-Hop World Awards. She had this to say about the competition "I never knew we had people who could be packaged internationally, it’s been wonderful, they have been very original." Her favorite performer in the top 6 was Jodie whom she described as being wonderful.

I appeal to West Africans to use the power of their votes wisely. Remember that whoever wins this competition will be presented to the world as the best we have to offer. Please remember this and vote wisely. In my opinion, Jodie is way better than most of the other contestants, and shouldn't have been out. You can vote online at the Idols West Africa website available here, and in case you missed out on the performances, you can also download the clips or watch online here. Right now we are down from 6 performers to 5. Sunday will be another day.

This post might have been written with some bias. Kindly pardon me, Jodie was my favorite performer! I had to wait a day before writing, so the dissapointment could wear off.