By Osagie Alonge
The fifth season of the MTN Project Fame West Africa has kicked off with contestants already in the academy.
A total of 15 contestants were picked at the recently held opening gala on Saturday, August 4, 2012. Side attractions from the gala included performances from Project Fame season 4 winner Monica and Chuddy K.
A final contestant will however be chosen through a ‘Wild Card Contest‘ which will see the academy accommodate 16 contestants in total.
A few changes have been made from last year’s show – Most notably, Nigezie boss Femi ‘Kwame’ Aderigbigbe who has served as a judge since inception has been replaced with Nigerian-German musician, producer Ade Bantu.
The duo Joseph Benjamin and Adora Oleh will continue as hosts.
Check out your contestants and pick a favourite!
The ever-smiley Adetoun is a bubbly 26 year-old woman whose confidence exudes in leaps and bounds. She is a studio-rat as far as she’s concerned, and has done a lot of back-up work for established artistes.
Adetoun is a graduate of Mass-Communication from Olabisi Onabanjo University. She caters for a living and has a very outgoing and friendly personality and believes in people. She is highly competitive in nature and is aiming for the Top.
Ayobami Ayoola Ayolola is the 25 year old personal assistant to renowned saxophonist Mike Aremu. Apart from his involvement in this saxophonist’s band, Ayo’s father is also a pastor and was a choir director for many years.
In Ayo’s own words, ‘my father discovered the music in me’ – and for this he is grateful to his dad whom he speaks of with pride. Ayo is also an actor and has had a few stints on television. He says he cannot run away from acting but music is his first love and seeing as this is his fifth stab at Project Fame West Africa, he intends to milk the opportunity for all it is worth.
Brenda Adigwe is a 16 year old go-getter. She is a third-year mass communication undergraduate of the Littoral University, Porto-Novo, Benin Republic. Brenda tends to come across as older than her age and even though the competition is open to only people eighteen years and above, she returned for another season of auditions to give it another shot and convinced the academy to let her in.
Brenda is very close to her mother and hopes to make her proud by going far in the competition and possibly emerge as the winner.
She’s 23 years old, studies Linguistics and African Languages at University of Benin, Edo State – Nigeria, and is in love with a young man who she calls her best friend. He’s a base guitarist and her number one fan apart from her family.
Chinyere is the last-born child and she receives a lot of support from her older siblings who are all married. She tends to be a bit shy and taciturn but she does express herself well enough and her biggest asset is her crystal-clear voice.
Dark-skinned and very expressive Christian is of mixed Nigerian heritage. His father is Yoruba and his mother is from Benue state. Christian has lived in Markudi for most of his life and is a fourth year Computer-Science student of the Federal University of Agriculture, Markudi, in Benue state, Nigeria.
Even though he has lived in the middle belt for most of his life, Christian emphasises that he is a Yoruba boy through and through and nothing can change that. Christian loves television, movies, and travelling. A very jovial sort, Christian does not fail to point out that he is only jovial and happy-go-lucky when he wants to be. He takes his music seriously and intends to win this competition, bringing the first prize back to Benue like Monica Ogah did in Season four.
Dimipre Kosu likes to be known as ‘Diddy’. He is 20 years old and an Engineering fourth-year undergrad at Niger Delta University. Diddy Kosu is playful and has his own style which he believes tends to stand him out from the crowd. He loves rock jazz and soul music and really loves to dance.
At the slightest opportunity, Didi is likely to break into ‘Azonto’ – the now famous dance of Ghanaian origin which the young man seems to have mastered and given his own unique twist.
Edward is a 26 year-old and has being doing music and song-writing for a living since his college days. He has a little daughter and a girlfriend both of whom he loves very much. He says he’s a good guy but doesn’t smile much because his eyes have seen ‘too many things’ during the savage war years that besieged Sierra-Leone.
Edward says he isn’t religious but is quite spiritual and is very connected to God. He certainly doesn’t see himself as a ladies’ man but is not averse to making new friends along the way, if they can accept him for who he is.
Grace Mark is a smallish twenty-four year old. Pretty-faced and with a chirpy speaking voice, she comes alive when she’s singing. Grace is from a large family – she has nine siblings and apparently, almost everyone in her home has a flair for music.
She has come a long way since last year, when she reached the semi-final stage of the auditions, so she is determined to make this opportunity in the Project Fame Academy count.
Joshua Owusu Effriyie is 20 years old, dark skinned, quite charming, and has a personality that draws you in. The young Ghanaian singer says he loves to eat, and therefore, loves to cook.
He spends a lot of time in the kitchen but when he isn’t cooking up a delicious dish, he is really into video games and his music. Joshua plays the saxophone, the guitar and the keyboard and is a staunch Arsenal Football Club fan.
Kemi is a 20 year-old ND-1 student of Federal Polytechnic, Offa – Kwara State. She grew up with her mother who is a fashion designer. Kemi is also a talented seamstress but unlike her mother, is yet to master the art of cutting design-patterns.
Kemi loves singing and wants to take it to the highest height. She believes she picked up the talent from her father who used to sing and play several instruments during his lifetime. She knows she has a lot to learn and wants to lap up as much as possible from all the faculty memebers.
Marvellous Odiete is 33 years old. He is a graduate of the University of Ibadan. His father is a pastor and Marvellous sometimes works in the church’s music department. Marvellous has a very strong voice which he wants to learn to use better.
Having done some studio gigs to earn a living, he believes it is time for him to take the bold step and do something really big with his talent, hence his participation in the competition. Marvellous says that despite his desire to win, he only sees himself as a competitive person, but not a desperate one and so he intends to do the best he can, take advantage of the platform which MTN Project Fame West Africa presents, and see where this takes him.
Musulyn Myers is a 19 year-old Liberian girl who likes to laugh a lot. Bubbly-spirited and sweet, Musulyn says she is kind-hearted and likes to put a smile on people’s faces. Musulyn is best friends with her mother but points out that it hasn’t always been that way. As a result of the war, she and her mum had to move to the United States of America when the young Musulyn was two years old and only returned three years ago in Musulyn’s mid-teens.
Musulyn says that having grown into a young adult, she finds that she and her mother understand each other a lot more and so their relationship is tighter now than it ever was. She loves singing and dancing and also plays the keyboard. She hopes that the Academy will give her insights about how to develop her music career and significantly improve her abilities and wants to learn.
Oyinkansade Akande, is a dark-skinned handsome young man with a calm demeanour and an air of wisdom around him. Oyinkansade knows what he wants and this isn’t a new trait of his. Always hoping to have formal knowledge of music, Oyinkansade felt that the stars shined on him when he finally got the opportunity to study music in Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. He now has a diploma in Music and is happy to have made the choice to go for it when he did.
He however feels that he doesn’t know enough about music to make a successful career of it and for this reason he hopes to go far in the Project Fame West Africa competition. Oyinkansade is south-pawed and plays the left-handed guitar.
Sonia Obi is a 22 year old student of Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution at the National Open University. She is social and likes to talk. She however tends to be pretty sensitive and emotional especially concerning her late mother whose ring she still wears as a keepsake.
She loves to sing and gives it her best. While she admits her emotions are close to the surface she wants to do well in the Academy to make her mother proud.
Tega Apochie is a 22 year-old Delta State babe who has a non-identical twin brother Tejire. Tega loves singing but if she wasn’t following the path of music, she would like to try her hands at fish-farming. She has her own style fashion-wise and readily admits to liking attention.
She has a distinct voice which she hopes can be trained to be outstanding. She is looking forward to the Academy as a growth experience in music, style and performance too.
43 comments
carry on.we need una ok.we dey una back…..
U’ve got God b4 A̶̲̥̅̊₪d̶̲̥̅̊ behind u’ll. Wish u’ll luck.
Adetoun,ayo,nd tega wish u d best
Marv u av a 1derful voice kip it up.
Project fame westafrica Ȋ̝̊̅§ ma fav seasonal show that teaches d housemates nt only hw 2 β a singer buh also a superstar, tnks 2 uncle ben d disciplinarian,kaffy d muscle pusher n always active,mummy j d loviest mum of α̲̅ℓℓ n ige the must do Ȋ̝̊̅† well…thumps up…
adetoun keep focus, n knw dat ur fans are solidlly behind u n we believe d sky is ur limit
josh, i luv ur style keep it up and all de best.
Musulyn all da wayyyy
i love u sonia keep on d good work
Mavi pls keep the fire burning to the end u are a great vocalist. God bless u men.
Chinyere keep on the good work, we luv U. Greatest Uniben
Nigeria I hail thee!!!
The show is called Project Fame West Africa yet its only
Nigerians in the competition. Please take a cue from
South africa that has been hosting BBA since inception
Oyinkansade,joshua,ayo d best 4 u guys
i will like to send my greeting to all contestant, but i just dont like d way mulyu or what ever she call herself. there is these about her, she always look down on somebody.
Ayo,Oyinkansade &Musulyn u guys shld keep it up!as for dat Sonia she shld learn hw to adress pple.
Waoh!!!
It’s getting more interesting. These guys are beginning to make the stars jealous! Taking an agelong song and doing it so beautifully. From Rex Lawson to Sir Shina Peters, Salawa Abeni and in a big way Adewale Ayuba, the owners can learn some lessons to be proud of; Olo’un! (taken straight from the show off the lips of Oyinkansade)
Coming to our home boy OYINKANSADE!!!
___sms 15 to 306 now, on MTN please___
Oyinkansade has revealed so much versatility. Flowing from Hip hop, doing Tu Face and others to Fuji yesterday on the show: what a guy! Bonsue fuji reverbrated through the studio, rocked the whole house and eclipsed all the other contestants. Picking his way gradually through the lyrics he took the song to a crescendo. He bore the audience, judges and academy along and unleashed on them a party frenzy. Complete with the steps and inuendos he stood slightly beyond the terrestrial. The song could have lasted the whole night. This is the one talent worth betting on. Keep your tabs closely on Oyinkansade!!!
You know a star when you see one. The fame is here.
Vote and vote again.
Oyinkan will keep it hot!!! Really, hotter than fire. . .
Dapo Ipadeola
http://www.facebook.com/oyinkanforprojectfameseason5
Adetoun, keep it up! U̶̲̥̅̊ are the best. We love u Ȋ̝̊̅n I-Ode. And on behalf of all OOU students, say may the Lord grant U̶̲̥̅̊ winning ability this time………hay Y (P-R peterson)
Adetoun, keep it up! U̶̲̥̅̊ are the best. We love u Ȋ̝̊̅n I-Ode. And on behalf of all OOU students, say may the Lord grant U̶̲̥̅̊ winning ability this time………hay Y (P-R peterson)
I lov u al guys bt mavellous should try nd take things easy nt 4getn dat he is d oldest. Ella i dey ur back no shakn. Lov ya!
Adetoun, you are the best. Keep flaunting the style. I see you emerging as projectfame west africa season 5 winner.
People, cast ur vote ƒőя̣̣̥ the best candidate in house (Adetoun 1 τ̲̅ȍ 306)
Love y’all
Hi Benjamin & Adora,
MTN projectframe is now becoming more interesting these days. pls, this goes to uncle Ben. Uncle Ben kindly take it easy with those guys @ the academy. These contestants have gone higher institution or probably undergraduates, hence, they needed to be encouraged and enhanced instead of instilling fear in them all.
mathew Adekunle
ipaja, lagos
dear Benjamin & Adora,
Good work, well done! please, uncle Ben should be cautioned on his expression and manners @ the academy; especially, his statement to welcome Ellan into the house. That statement is capable to divide the house and give birth to hatred and loathing among the contestants. Apart from this, Ben is wonderful.
MOA
Ipaja, Lagos
marvelous, u are doing well! you are talented. keep it up.
Mathew
This goes to mavelos, keep it up you are the best. You are born to win, born to raign in life infact you are a super super star. You have a special grace and will see u through. CONGRATULATIONS!
)
I love all the contestants,they’re all great,my regards to Marvellous i just love him for his maturity,he respects himself and i love his carriage too,any woman that will have him as a husband is lucky bcos she will really enjoy him,Ella is a wonderful girl,carry go girl,big ups to u,then uncle Ben shd really take it easy on them being harsh is not the way to train people,he’s beginning to piss people off,dats not the way,he’s too harsh and he hardly smiles,i hated mathematics back then in school bcos my maths teacher was like him,these are full grown adults and they shd be treated with respect,then to all the instructors in the house i love u all,u’re all wonderful,mrs Joke Silva u’re indeed a mother i love u mummy.
u re such a wonderful mother mrs joke silva…i luv u so much d way u handle dem in d acdemic may ur child too find favour in every sight of pple.fnks u so much dearest mother.nd diz goes to uncle Ben,he shuld plz nd plz tk it easy wit dem in d academic coz he scared dem alot nd diz wil mk d student lose deir concentratn nd dey wil b filin so much discomfort wen eva dey set deir eyez on him.He too shuld remb dat he has once bin lyke dem before
this goes to marvellous is me your young dude @ oniru Estate i wish you best of luck my GoD sse you Through and i pray Its shall be well by GOD grace..
Mom j I so much love u, u ar such a wonderful
mother, thanks 4 ur hard work in academy, may u lyf to reap d fruit of ur hard work Amen. To uncle ben pls try to make things easy 4 dos guy, am begging u wit d name of lord, to my guy oyinkansade u ar well done keep it up God is by ur side
to marvellous i wish you best of luck and GOD will see you through and the grace of GOD will be with you…
All d contest is wonderful, i think Oyinkansade is good. Keep it up Honey in d crown
To Christian Ade, u’r an external excellency, the joy of many generations, strangers will build ur walls, kings will watch ur rising, u’r d chosen one and nothing shall stop, coz nothing could stop Jesus 4rm resurrection and ascension to heaven. Congrats. OMIRIGBE BARNABAS (BISHOP ~ Strings)
Plz i will love to meet ADETOUN she is a very good singer.
I love mummyJ,kaffy,dupe ige n uncle ooo.oyinkansade may thy Lord in his infinate mercy make u d winner in dis season five projectfame,u re an ordained winner from heaven may u find favour in d eyes of d judges.oyinkansade sky is ur starting point…I don’t know u buh God damn it u re just d best….may God favour u among ur peers to d rest of d aws I love u all
wow, this is the tough moment i can’t say the winner because all of you are awesome like benjamen usually says.
God bless U̶̲̥̅̊ marvellous….
my greeting 2 everyone in d house,adetoun mama oo keep it up,big bros marve keep it up,ayo keep it up may the lord help u,oyinkansadeoo baba bee oloooorun.
my greeting 2 everyone in d house,adetoun mama oo keep it up,big bros marve keep it up,ayo keep it up may the lord help u,oyinkansadeoo baba bee oloooorun.may the lord bless u all
Christian
my shout out to christian. He`s bin working hard for years to get his dreams come through, May God crown your efforts with glory.
Ella baby,the almighty God will see u through,u’re a star and there’s no two ways about it,u keep mesmarizing us each time u climb that stage,am so proud of u,the world is proud of u too,God has already crown you the winner and when God says yes,no one can say no,keep it up girl,i love u and to all the faculty members,kisses to all of u,the judges u’re great and to the hosts Joseph and Adaora,u guys are wonderful,the band is not left out.kudos to all of u.Cheers.
good work at marvellous, keep focusing on your voice and i think you deserved the next west africa project fame. you da best
i love marvellous, i think he has a good voice among all and marvellous keep focusing on your voice, you da best next african project fame.
oyinkansade A .k . A omo ibadan u r so handsome nd u gat a good voice i love dat ur song ma tinko angel dat u composed u ave 2 keep it up !!!c i wish u could be the winner nd 2 u adetoun u r beautiful nd u r endowed with a gud voice keep it up nd 2 u musulyn u r so endowed in dancing nd ur voice is so good
you alll are just supper talentd,n i belivd dis season has jus brought it,ahhh da stage ,the choreography,da faculty its just great.muslin u are talents,adetoun u voice is unique n am glad u choos to be comfortable wit it,oyikonsade u r too much,marvelous u r marrrvelous,ella u r jus mwaahhh n christian is super mwahh.u guys rock.priskylla from ghana.luv da show haha hu