CITI FM Voice Factory Competition heats up

The studio of 97.3 Citi FM was the scene of much drama and suspense on Wednesday August 26, 2009 when three of the six remaining contestants in the Voice Factory Radio Talent Hunt Competition turned up for the Eviction Show. As Bismark, Jeff and Solace sat opposite Jessica on Brunch in da Citi, holding hands and ironically praying for their own survival, they were clueless about who was to leave.

Finally the announcement was made and Jeff, who had survived over two Eviction Shows, finally bowed out of the competition. He polled 8.52% of the votes cast plus the scores of the judges while Bismark followed rather closely with 11.16% of the votes. Solace ended up with 11.85% of the votes making her the contestant with the highest number of votes amid the members of the ‘Bottom Three Gang’ for this week.

Wondering how the contestants performed on Saturday August 22, 2009? Your guess is as good as mine…

Solace kick started the performances with a song by Martina McBride, “In my daughter’s eyes”. She held her own all through as the judges said “There was so much passion in that performance”. They complimented her ability to communicate very well with her audience. Solace performed an Accapella version of the gospel tune, “His eye is on the sparrow”.

With Elton John’s “Can you feel the love tonight”, Fritz did what he does best; impress.. Maintaining his composure and often resisting the temptation of ‘playing’ with the song, his performance got the judges saying “excellent voice expression… fantastic choice of song”. He closed his performance with an Accapella version of “Paid my dues”.

“It don’t have to change” by John Legend was performed next by Bismark who despite his impressive voice presence punched holes in his performance with his inability to recollect some of the lyrics of the song. The judges noted this and cautioned that “If you don’t like the song you can’t communicate well”. They however expressed their satisfaction with the strength of his voice. Bismark walked away from the studio after performing the Accapella version of “I’ll give anything to fall in love”.

Abdul came through next performing a rather raspy version of George Michael’s “Father figure”. After giving a good account of himself, the judges complimented Abdul on his confidence and his ability to always enjoy himself. They however said he failed to capture the attention of his audience. Abdul went ahead to sing “Lord I offer my life to you” for his Accapella moment.

Despite all the enthusiasm she exuded, Hellen’s delivery of Celine Dion’s “A mother’s prayer” was plagued with miscued starts and faulted diction. The judges were thus not far from the truth when they described her performance and attempts to make the song overly emotional as “pretty bad.” They said her voice was weak and advised her to be cautious in her choice of songs. She sang the Accapella version of “Weakness in me”.

Jeff signed the performances off with a rendition of Boyz II Men’s “Song for Mama”. “You belong in a group instead of a solo artiste”, is what the judges had to say about his performance. They were not impressed with his fearful disposition and hinted that “it’s doing you a serious disservice. If you don’t get rid of it, you are not going to go anywhere in this industry and this competition”. Jeff however gathered the courage to do “I promise you” for his Accapella moment.

The contestants dedicated their songs to their favourite Ghanaian male artistes.

Tune in this and every Saturday to catch live the Voice Factory Competition as the drama continues.

Keep your favourite contestant in the competition by texting his/her name to shortcode 1760 across all networks. Remember however that voting closes at midnight on Tuesday and resumes after the eviction show on Wednesday.

Voice Factory is powered by 97.3 Citi Fm and sponsored by Coca-Cola…live on the Coke side of life and Ashfoam …Feel it, Know it with support from Rana motors.