Nigeria Content Online

Director, Mak
‘Kusare, became a celebrity of sorts in 2006 when his debut feature,
’90 Degrees’ won three awards at the Zuma Film Festival in Abuja. The
film won the Best Director, Best First Film/Video of a Director and
Best Feature Film awards.

But five years
after its premiere, the movie about a young man’s quest to seek new
pastures in the US, has not been seen outside of festivals.

Priceless art

‘90 Degrees’ is
still very much there,” the 32-year-old offers on why he is still
holding on to the film. “Initially, I was very eager to get it out but
then I didn’t meet the kind of marketer I would love to market it. ‘90
Degrees’ is a project and the idea behind it was to shoot and market
differently. We pushed the envelope a bit in production style, quality
and content. The total packaging was completely different from what you
have in Nigeria at that time.

“We also didn’t
want to go straight to video and DVD. Unfortunately, it was still
difficult for places like Silverbird to accept Nigerian films.
Silverbird and NuMetro are the cinema houses around and they have a
different view about Nigerian films ;that people will rather buy a
Nigerian CD for N250 than watching it with N1,500 at the cinema. In the
process I got distracted by other things. While all this was going on
Silverbird restructured and were taking Nigerian films depending on the
quality. Nu Metro which had agreed to screen ‘90 Degrees’ closed shop
in Nigeria. I was still working with the BBC then and by the time I
finished, I looked at it and saw I have grown more than that. I feel it
is not a true representation of who I am now as an artist.

“Then the pricing.
What people were ready to offer was the general market price and I
thought our art was more than that. I didn’t see it as a general
commodity and besides, I knew what we had invested. It wasn’t huge
money but I knew the value of what we had invested. DSTV made their
offer as well but I wasn’t impressed. They offered something pretty
okay compared to what they offer others for Nigerian movies, but I’ve
been reluctant. In fact, I’m considering giving it out for educational
purposes.”

Collective effort

‘Kusare also
reveals the secret of how he succeeded in shooting ’90 Degrees’ with
just N250, 000. “In fact, I started with N20,000. Luckily for me I was
fresh from school, in fact still partially in school, and I had my
colleagues working with me. I did not pay anybody cash in terms of
payment fees. It was a labour of love and I was able to get some
equipment from the Nigerian Film Corporation and others. That is the
reason I wasn’t too happy the film won in categories it did, I would
have loved to see Best Actor, Best Actress etc. It would have made me
feel better because it will be a sort of compensation for the guys for
their hard work. It’s the work of everybody. The creation of a film is
pretty much like painting but this time around, everybody involved
holds the brush; they all struggle to make a perfect stroke.

“Coming out with
‘90 Degrees’ was a break from the norm, we wanted to get a completely
different kind of story. Then art is of essence. It’s an art form and
we must see it through. Film as an art form means using your shots as a
unit of construction as opposed to using the scene as your unit of
construction; every individual shot in your movie adds up to the whole.
I’m happy people are coming to realise that the film medium is much
more than what people used to think. It is a medium of expression, art.
You have to be expressive with it and you have to push the envelope
because stories are almost all told. What is new is how you present it.
You constantly look for new ways to tell a story and that’s what I did
with 90 Degrees.”

‘Kusare, one of
the four directors of the rested BBC’s ‘Wetin Dey’, has since moved on
to produce TV series including ‘David’s Fall’ and TV commercials. He is
also director of the yet- to- be released ‘Comrades’.

Golden touch

Saying ‘Kusare has
a Midas touch is an understatement. ‘Champions of Our Time’, the latest
project he worked on for Chidi Nwokeabia and Emeka Enyiocha has started
garnering awards. It won the Best Nigerian Feature Award at the 2010
Abuja International Film Festival and the Golden Mboni Award for Best
Children Film at the Lola Kenya Screen Audiovisual Media Festival in
Kenya. Making the movie, however, wasn’t a piece of cake for the young
director who had previously never worked with core Nollywood producers.

“For the first
time I was getting involved with the real workings of Nollywood and
their mentality – our mentality, as it were. The Nollywood style of you
don’t make too much fuss about things, it’s just pointing the camera
and shoot. The producers invested so much because once I was called; I
said we are going to get this kind of light and camera. This is the
format we will be shooting on and they accepted. To be fair to them,
they got all of those things but once the chips were down and we were
on set, they wanted things to move fast.

“We had serious
issues on the set; I had to bend a lot and it was painful. They also
had to bend; it was painful to both of us. I was coming from a
different background. The way people in the industry practice their
art; that is the most painful part; their attitude to work, their
production values. Sometimes, I look back and wondered how I
compromised on those things but I did it for the work to go on. The
next time we are working together we will know ourselves better.”

Pleasant surprise

His regrets at
compromising on the set of the movie presently showing at the cinemas
has been somewhat assuaged by the awards rolling in.

“I was shocked
because I didn’t expect them to start coming soon. I got distracted
along the line with ‘David’s Fall’ while I was in post production for
‘Champions of Our Time’. I did the first three cuts and from that time
I started giving notes to the editor who also edited ‘90 Degrees’. I
thought I was in the process of making a film, then I started receiving
awards. I think one reason we are getting awards is the subject matter.
For a change, we are dealing with something that has not been common in
Nigeria’s cinema which is what I’ve always wanted and one of the
reasons why I accepted the project. I love new stories, the ones that
are different from those we have been telling. There are other stories
that we can tell that are moving; stories of ordinary people doing
extraordinary things. I’m happy for the producers because the intention
has been achieved; they wanted an award winning movie.”

Is he fully part of Nollywood now?

“Whether I like it or not, whenever I go out there and I say I’m a
Nigerian filmmaker, you are called a Nollywood filmmaker. If Nollywood
means the Nigerian film industry, then I’m part of Nollywood. To that
extent, yes, I’m Nollywood. But when it comes to the quality of work
that has been associated with Nollywood, no I’m not. What Nollywood is
doing now is good, we are seeing new talents and they are improving the
standard. I’m not Nollywood for mediocrity; I’m Nollywood because
Nollywood stands for the Nigerian film industry.” Despite his past
experience, ‘Kusare has not shut the door on collaborations with
Nollywood producers. “I think there is a lot we can learn from each
other. I have never been averse to getting things done quickly but if
I’m going to do that at the expense of quality, then I don’t want to.”
‘Kusare who has a new project, discloses that, “it’s a feature length
movie and hopefully by the end of this year, next year, it should hit
the screen. We are also developing TV programmes, in partnership with a
couple of others. I’m also working on the adaptation of a Nigerian
comic strip, ‘Nollywood Finest’.

The maiden edition
of what promises to become an annual touring event, the iRepresent
(iREP) International Documentary Film Festival, opens in Lagos on
January 20. It will hold until January 23 at Terra Kulture and the
Lagos Business School.

A press release
signed by the executive director of iREP, Femi Odugbemi, states that
the iREP is conceptualised to create a platform of awareness and
expression for aspiring and practicing filmmakers who are creating
socially relevant documentary films to positively impact our world.

The festival is
also intended to fully engage an array of trans-cultural creativity and
to provide a forum for everyone’s ingenuity to be showcased without
prejudice to style or subject. In addition, iREP celebrates the ever
expanding world of documentary films by inviting talents from across
the globe to share ideas on trends and technological advancements in
the format.

“We recognise that
there are still quite a good number of well-trained, talented and
serious filmmakers in Nigeria who are willing and ready to work hard to
reclaim the lost glory of the industry,” say the organisers. “This is a
goal that the iREP desires to pursue in its operation, especially
through its annual iREP international touring documentary festival.”

Symposia

The three-day
festival themed ‘The Impact of Documentary Production in a Developing
Society/Economy’ will feature paper presentations, training and
workshop, interactive panel discussion, screenings, networking, as well
as gala and award ceremony.

The workshop and
symposium will feature topics including: ‘Can Documentary Change the
World?’ a keynote by Manthia Diawara, director, African-American
Studies, New York University.

A panel of
filmmakers and critics led by Senegalese film producer, Lydia Diakhate,
will discuss the topic ‘Redeeming the African Image: a Case for African
Documentary Films’.

A panel of
speakers led by filmmakers Tunde kelani and Sandra Obiago will focus on
the topic of ‘Africa in Self Conversation’. Bongiwe Selane will deliver
a paper on ‘Films for Development: Engineering Change in African
Politics’.

A roundtable
moderated by Tunde Babawale of the Centre for Black and African Arts
and Culture (CBAAC) will discuss ‘Motives of Black Consciousness in
African Documentaries’, while a mini training session for young and
aspiring filmmakers will look at ‘Digital Filmmaking, Shooting
Techniques and Tricks for Documentary Production’.

Also expected to
participate in the symposium and workshop sessions as lead speakers and
discussants are: Afolabi Adesanya, MD, Nigeria Film Corporation (NFC);
Emeka Mba, DG, National Film and Video Censors Board; and Tunde
Adegbola, lecturer at the University of Ibadan. Others include: Fidelis
Duker, director, Abuja Film Festival; Busola Holloway, and Awam Amkpa,
director, Africana Studies, New York University.

Screenings

A collection of
award winning documentary films by filmmakers from across the world,
especially Africa in the Diaspora and at home, complemented by works of
young and old filmmakers in Nigeria, will be screened during the
festival.

Also, a jury made
up of professional and young filmmakers will shortlist the documentary
films made by film students in Nigeria to be screened at the festival.

Professional
filmmakers who have confirmed their participation in the festival
include: Jihan El-Tahiri, French-Egyptian producer of ‘Behind the
Rainbow’ (2009) and David Max Brown, producer of ‘The Manuscripts and
Timbuktu’.

Also expected are
Mario Mabor; Talal Afifi, a film festival director from Sudan; Akin
Omotosho, director of MNet Great African Stories; Lydia Diakhate,
director of the Real Life Documentary Forum, who will be directing the
training and workshop session; and Issraa El-Kogali.

Other poetential
international participants are expected to be confirmed soon. On the
home front, about ten filmmakers are expected to participate.

Some of them are:
Sandra Obiago, who will be presenting a collection of films made under
her outfit, Communicating For Change; Femi Odugbemi (one of the movers
behind iRep, he is the director of ‘Oriki’); Inspire Africa, which will
be showcase ‘Naija Diamonds’; while CBAAC and the National Film
Institute will be presenting works by five students. Each filmmaker
will have an interactive session with festival audience after the
screenings of their films.

The festival film
is ‘Behind the Rainbow’ by South African Jihan El-Tahiri. The
124-minute documentary focuses on the conflicts within the African
National Congress (ANC), which took over power in South Africa after
the end of Apartheid. It won the second prize for Best Documentary at
FESPACO 2009 in Burkina Faso.

In 2010, iREP International documentary film festival was founded by
a board of directors which include producer and director, Odugbemi;
culture activist and newspaper editor, Jahman Anikulapo; and filmmaker
and director of the Lagos Film Office, Makin Soyinka.

Why Art?

Art is the way I
express myself. For me, it’s the language that I speak and it’s what
makes me feel the most connected to my soul. Seeing people connect with
what I create is what makes the process all the more special.

Training

I graduated from
the University of Benin with a degree in Fine Arts. Upon moving to the
United States, I continued my education at Georgia State University.
Though I have had some formal art training, much of my development has
come through practice, traveling, and studying the works of the artists
I admire.

Medium

Oil is my preferred
medium because of its richness, but I also work with several other
mediums as I am always looking to improve my skill by experimenting
with new materials and methods.

Influences

To date, my father
has had the biggest influence in my life and in my career as an artist.
The many times I felt discouraged about making a career from my art, he
was always there to encourage me.

Inspirations

I am inspired by my
environment – the beauty and its complexity are evident in my work. My
paintings strive to depict visual tales of emotion, mood, colour,
movement, form, textures, and other elements. My experiences and
interactions with these elements can be interpreted and translated best
when they are depicted on canvas.

Best work so far

Each piece
communicates something different that’s very meaningful to me. I am
always on a quest to produce works that will resonate even deeper than
the last piece, so I tend not to get too attached to my paintings.

Least satisfying work

I am very critical
of everything that I do, but I have found that what I find the least
satisfying is what someone else will find the most intriguing. I
believe every work I create will fulfill a purpose for someone and
that’s satisfying to me.

Career high point

Getting the
opportunity to exhibit my work alongside some of the world’s most
recognised artists and being named as one of ‘Today’s Top Artists’ in
July 2007, by Art Business News are accomplishments that I am very
proud of.

Winning the SOLO
Award at the International Artexpo New York in 2006 is also an
accomplishment that I am proud of because my work was singled out in
the midst of hundreds of other great works.

Favourite artist, living or dead

Pablo Picasso – I
am inspired by him because of his ability to be a multi-dimensional
artist. He was able to break away from the norm and create his own
style of painting.

Jackson Pollock –
He is an inspiration to me because of all of his accomplishments during
his short life. Pollock created the unusual technique of pouring and
dripping paint on canvas which is known to be the origin of the term
‘action painting’.

Ambition

Besides continuing
to create works that will inspire people, I would love to make art more
accessible to people by partnering with organisations that support this
cause. In recent years, I partnered with some of these organisations,
including The National Gallery of Art (NGA).

In collaboration with the NGA, I facilitated the sponsorship of a
few Nigerian artists and provided them the opportunity to exhibit their
work at the International Artexpo, New York and Las Vegas. This is a
wonderful experience for the artists involved and it has pioneered the
way for an annual Artexpo in Nigeria.

Our teenage
daughter, Ominira, and I have a complicated relationship. We love each
other and we are in constant communication about stuff. Our
conversations are usually in the form of random questions. I remember
when Ominira first introduced me to Facebook. Well, I was loitering
around our house; I had come home a bit early from work hoping to spend
some quality time with Ominira. She slunk into the house from school
muttering to herself, something about when it would be appropriate to
drop out of school, when she spied me in the living room.

She immediately
stopped like an American deer that just spied a cutlass-wielding
Nigerian. “Daddy, why are you here?” she asked. ‘Enh?” I responded, “I
live here! Is that okay?” Then, “Daddy, are you in an arranged marriage
with mommy?” ‘Enh?” I asked, feeling really, really, really faint.
“Where did that come from?” “Well, my friend, O-K, said his parents are
in an arranged marriage; that is why they hate each other!” My wife and
I love each other.

O-K is really
Okechukwu, yes, these children in America, they reject their African
names. Ominira has a three letter word for the name that my father gave
her, a beautiful name with meaning thus: “I sent my wayward son to
America to make millions of dollars, he has failed woefully at that. I
guess a female child is also good, a son would be nice! Sniff!” Our
other daughter was named “Kindness will not kill me in this village of
Unokas who borrow money but refuse to repay their benefactors. A son
would be nice!” My father uses my children’s names to express stress.
Our first son came after the two girls and my father danced for many
days on occasion of the birth of a SON before giving the kid this name:
“AT LAST! AT LAST! MY SON HAS PRODUCED A WORTHY SUCCESSOR TO MY GREAT
THRONE! A BOY! AT LAST!! NOW I CAN DIE!” Today, our son calls himself
Ike, as in Ike Eisenhower! Ingrate!

O-K had shared his
suspicion that his parents are in a stressful loveless marriage that
was arranged for them by their “tribes” back home. O-K has exactly
5,000 very inquisitive amebo friends who each have 5,000 very
inquisitive amebo friends, who each have 5,000 very inquisitive amebo
friends. You can see where I am going with this. Be very afraid of your
children. Do not, I repeat, do not tell them anything. For verily,
verily, I say onto you, their friends, and their friends’ friends, and
their friends’ friends’ friends will find out on Facebook.

The other day, my
wife and I were having date night in the family room which really
involves chomping on roasted plantain and stale groundnuts from home
while watching a nice Nigerian movie with a great title like WHO ARE
MY? (Heh! Heh! Heh! Heh! Ikhide, stop!). Well, Ominira our daughter
sauntered into the room and announced casually, “Mummy! Daddy!! Auntie
Kehinde is dying!!” This terrible piece of information ruined our
entire date, and we took turns yelling at Ominira for not giving us the
home phone when the horrible news came. Ominira calmly assured us after
rolling her eyes and texting “smh” to her friend, that she does not
know what a home phone is plus the news is all over Facebook. When my
lover asked what “Bookface” was, she was quickly corrected with several
eye rolls and teenage put-downs. It was only the threat of police
intervention that prevented my wife from dispatching Ominira to the
great beyond. Be very afraid of your children. They are talking about
you. On Facebook.

So I am on
Facebook, I don’t really know why. I do like that I can surround myself
with only non-jerks, real people who really love me, even when I say
inappropriate stuff, which is all the time. Who needs the stress of
hearing the truth from bad belle prophets? I am a dictator in my corner
of Facebook; if you do not “like” what I have to say, you are gone. My
two favourite words on Facebook are “like” and “LOL!”

The first time I tried to get on my daughters’ Facebook accounts as
their friends, they laughed so hard, I thought they were going to have
a heart attack. Then they threatened to report me to the Police for
stalking and other crimes. Well, about a year ago they added me because
I told them I was going to Nigeria to visit my relatives. Their Social
Studies teacher, a Nigerian, had told them that Africa was a place of
darkness, where a lot of bad things happen and people get robbed,
stabbed, murdered, etc, like in Washington DC. They wanted to monitor
my movements since I was going to be on Facebook in Africa (yes,
Nigeria is Africa!) via my Blackberry. They didn’t want to miss
anything in case I got shot. They also asked for copies of my life
insurance. I came back alive. They were happy to see me. I think.

Omo Uwaifo is an
engineer by profession, but he’s better known in some circles as a
writer and lover of everything literary. He recently intervened in the
arts life of Lagos by introducing ‘The Foxhole’, a place for writers to
commune and share their works.

The Edo State born
Uwaifo, still passionate and active at 78, joined the Electricity
Corporation of Nigeria (ECN) as it was known, in 1954, before leaving
in 1973 to set up his own firm.

“When I was nine,
in the evenings, I’d sit down and tell folk stories and people would
gather around me. As a young boy, my teacher would take me to Standard
One to teach the students spellings”, said Uwaifo, recalling how and
when his literary interest began.

Edo literate

Uwaifo, who edited
the book, ‘Edo Cultural Voyage’ and whose work has been translated into
Edo language, said, “In those days, we read Edo language for the first
four years in school. I was very Edo literate.”

Uwaifo is quite
concerned about the affairs of the nation and this passion spills over
into his writing and the unmistakable tone of anger and exasperation
can be felt in his works. His articles for the Vanguard Newspaper were
published in a collection as ‘That Nigeria May Survive’.

His novel, ‘The
Fattening House’ published in 2001, and ‘Litany’, a collection of
poems, were shortlisted in 2004 and 2009 respectively for the Nigeria
Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG)-sponsored Nigeria Prize for Literature.

On both occasions,
none of the three works on the shortlist, including Uwaifo’s, were
awarded the prize, much to the chagrin of many. Uwaifo jokes that he
will no longer participate in any more awards as it seems no one is
winning awards because of him.

He launched his latest poetry volume, ‘Before the Golden Jubilee’, in 2010.

“It is essentially what I think about Nigeria,” the writer says of the collection.

The Foxhole

Uwaifo believes
writing is one of the ways he can make his voice heard with the hope
that he, like many other voices crying out for change, will be paid
attention to. In the same vein, he opened ‘The Foxhole’ on December 16,
2010. The venue has already hosted the 50th birthday reading for Uzor
Maxim Uzoatu, author of ‘God of Poetry’.

Uwaifo calls, The
Foxhole, located in the grounds of his Maryland, Lagos residence, his
own contribution to young writers. A foxhole is some sort of hideout
which soldiers at war use as shelter from their enemy and also to fire
back at their enemies.

“It is a private
place where writers may come together to voice their concerns or fears
of a wilting society; or to discuss the hopes and promises of an
emerging nation – her plays, songs inventions, and contributions to the
development of the human race,” he states.

The Foxhole itself
is a thatched dome-like head attached to a rotund body. It sits in the
midst of a grassy landscape, which is receiving much attention from
Uwaifo and his gardeners. The scenery is as yet incomplete as the
flowers are still being planted and a couple of trellises to aid the
climbing flowers have just been set up.

‘You don’t have to go to the island’

Uwaifo says writers
do not have to rent the MUSON Centre or any other fancy Island venue
for their book readings or literary gatherings, now that The Foxhole
has been set up.

“Anyone can come in
here and they do not have to pay anything. All that is necessary is
that we should be given some notice prior to the event so that we can
prepare the place,” Uwaifo states.

He adds that for a
gathering of about ten, there are cushions which can be set up on the
floor. However, for larger gatherings ranging from 60 to 70, there are
chairs that can be set up to fit the rotund shape of the structure,
while the speaker or individual addressing the audience can stay in the
middle.

Also, with the serenity of the environment and the
audience-proximity which The Foxhole affords, no microphones or
speakers will be required.

The Lagos State
Chapter of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) on January 8 held
a book reading in memory of Adolphus Amasiatu, a poet who died recently
from the complications of a spinal cord injury sustained in an accident
about two years ago.

Members of ANA
Lagos turned up to honour their comrade; and while some had penned a
few lines in dedication to the departed, poems were also read from the
late poet’s last collection of poetry, ‘Verses by Post’.

The late Amasiatu,
who in addition to being a poet, was a soldier in the Nigerian Army,
wrote the poems in the collection like letters to his wife while he was
on the battlefield; her replies were also documented in the same format.

Unknown soldiers

According to Dagga
Tolar, chair of the Lagos chapter of ANA, the work comes from the
Amasiatu’s background as a soldier. Some of the poems smack of
nostalgia and homesickness from being away from home and longing to
return.

“When soldiers go
to war and die, their commanders accept the victories of the war. The
dead soldiers are tagged as unknown. Amasiatu is saying unknown
soldiers should be recognised. He identifies himself as one of them. He
also calls himself a soldier of the pen”, said Tolla, commenting on one
of Amasiatu’s poems.

Another ANA member,
the poet Austin Njoku, also read from ‘Verses By Post’. Commenting on
one piece that had a tone of foreboding, Njoku said it was uncanny how
some writers unknowingly predict their own end in their works.

Njoku said Amasiatu
was always proud to be identified as a writer, and preferred that
identification over being a soldier, because he eventually left the
army. “However, he has left us with something to remember him by,”
Njoku said.

Tolar’s poem ‘No
More Broke Heart’, dedicated to the late Amasiatu, was laden with anger
and frustration at the leadership of the nation and its unconcern
towards the citizenry. He stated that it is ridiculous the kinds of
needless deaths that occur regularly up and down the country. “People
die from fuel inhalation, generator blasts and potholes”, he lamented.

Writers’ welfare

Another member put
ANA under scrutiny, asking what provisions are being made to assist
members who fall into such misfortunes. “Being in a wheelchair is a
tough situation,” observed Tolu Ajayi. “We don’t have the facilities in
this country for such situations.” He reminded the meeting of author
Chinua Achebe, also in a wheelchair, who had to relocate to the US
after the accident that left him paralysed.

A past president of
the chapter, Folu Agoi, read a piece by the late poet that talks about
corruption in the army and the nation. Also at the meeting was Margaret
Aninyei who said that, “With the pen we can fashion the destiny of our
country. We can write to enable vision for our younger generations.”

Tolar eulogized
Amasiatu, saying, “Adolphus was a successful journalist, soldier and
lawyer. In spite of this, he still had time to write. There is no
excuse not to write because the works might become the only monument to
record all that the writer has done.”

He added that excuses about the absence of publishers and the problem of electricity are no longer tenable.

“This is a key
lesson,” he said, holding up the book. “Because of this, Amasiatu is
not dead. We must put pride on our literature. I think we should
challenge ourselves, break the barriers to get our works out, because
they will become a monument.”

Adolphus Amasiatu was born in 1971. In addition to his poems, he
published a collection of short stories titled ‘Return of the Last
Platoon and Other Stories’.

Last week’s group
of ten on the Nigerian Idol showcased some of the best contestants the
show has so far presented, which is somewhat tricky, considering that
only two will get to stay. At least five were unquestionably superb.

The contestants
have gotten better each week with undeniably powerful voices, but a lot
still needs to be done in the area of stage presence. Only one or two
managed to pull off a convincing interpretation of the songs they were
given to sing. Adetoun who rendered a Whitney Houston number, ‘I Have
Nothing’, in her beautiful alto, performed it more like a war song,
instead of the heartfelt plea that it was supposed to be.

For some weird
reason, Chioma who sang Toni Braxton’s ‘Unbreak My Heart’ was
horrendously off-key despite her strong voice. My favourites were
Kesiena, Amaka, Rachel and Emmanuel. Kesiena sang Chris De Burgh’s
‘Lady in Red’ and managed to get Audu Maikori, who once admitted to
hating the song, to suddenly fall in love with it. He also displayed
great control over what could have easily been a passable voice,
moulding it around the song and came out sounding better than some of
the others who had more classic voices.

Rachel simply put
sent shivers down my spine with a tune made popular by Shirley Bassey.
Once again, Yinka Davies’ ear for jazz and the blues, a genre in which
she has managed to distinguish herself, was once again displayed as she
gave kudos to contestants who managed to pull off songs in this genre.
Leonard’s performance of Frank Sinatra’s ‘Fly Me To Moon’ song threw
Davies into a state of orgasmic laughter after which she declared her
love for the dapper young man.

After witnessing this bevy of talents, it felt kind of sad to know
that their fate lies in the hands of voters and no longer the judges.
With this particular group of ten, it would have been better that the
judges choose the two that got to carry on. Seeing from the past weeks,
the contestants with the best voices/performances often do not get to
move further up in the contest. Nina and Emmanuel triumphed in the
viewers’ votes and will now join the top ten. Hopefully, the best
voices will make it through this week.