I think Timi was really set up for failure last night. To give him 2 difficult songs was just not fair. Anyway, Timi is still the best on the competition and we will still vote for him. I think he still did very well under the circumstances.

@bonini
i agreed with you . it was so sad but all thesame he is still the best in the show and i will do anything to keep him this week .

Omawunmi is the best in the show at this point!

She was so brilliant last night!

yeah i agree omowunmi was really good, i might vote for her, timi shud never run again or he may loose it

yaeh razorr ,oma was good last night but i tell you i still believe in TIMI.

If by some miracle, Timi remains in the show after tonight, he would have to work on his discipline!

What he did last night must never repeat itself again!

Last week Omawumi 's first number was dreadful, in the wrong key for her and then she redeemed herself in her second song. This week Timi had a great first song and then a problem in his second song. I pray and hope the public will still recognise that he deserves to be in the finals. I mean who else can it be, it cannot possibly be Eric . just because he is supposed to be good looking, can't see it, never have, and who has never received a standing ovation and sings through a blocked nose, or Temitayo who cannot pitch or change keys, but looks good. Most of her performances have been with a few cracked notes, or horribly flat.

how can i vote

Ohene:

how can i vote

Go to www.mnetafrica.com

well what can i say, last week's show proves that things are not always what they seem.

What happened to Timi?? did he suddenly lose his invincibility or was it too much confidence?
his performances were totally unbecoming & unpardonable, even the shout from the crowd culdnt hide his cracked performance.

Omawumi was off the hook!!!!!!!!!!!!!! damn, am so grateful that she stayed this long for us to see the best come out of her. one thing is for sure, she has grown. She handled Faith hill's "Cry", Gloria Gaynor's "i will survive" and Natasha Bedingfield's "i bruise easily" with so much elegance and confidence.

Eric, Eric, Eric!!!!! i wasnt fooled on minute by all that "fine boy, no talent" demeanor of his. Gosh, the reeks like an over stretched violin chord! it makes me sick to my stomach.

Temitayo, well she's cool and i like her personality but i vocal range really is not all that.


i really miss jodie and i cant still believe she didnt make it 2 the tope 5, but i know she got what it takes to be a star!

the bible condem it, u can serve God and idol

Let me proudly be the first to announce the results of M-NET idols Monday eviction show,

Eric is finally out!! Good Luck out there.

That's right, I saw it right after Michael Magic did.

Cheers

I believe Eric and Temitayo should not have lasted this long. His speech was nice and he seems a fairly likeable guy, he just never had the voice or true performance skills from day one. He was trying too hard to be like Timi when performing, but he never had the true passion that emanates from Timi when singing.

I have no Idea what the organisers where hoping to achieve by calling it West African Idols,when it is very evident that most of the contenstants are fro m Nigeria and to imagine that only one non-Nigerian was present in the top ten!Why not just call the show Nigerian Idol.The judges chosen are not really the best West Africa has to offer can u imagine that DEDE has not released even a single Album in his entire Life!The selection process in the auditioning and Top 24 stages was very appalling,there was a guy from Ghana called Jarry who sang with more passion than any of the contestants and yet he was voted off,even a girl called Sintiki who sang one off Alicia Keys songs after being selected in the audition was nowhere to be seen in the top 24.As i would always say we have to get rid of our Nigerian Factor when we do things!

Yes, Eric is out. Personally, I don't think he deserved leaving just yet. He still did better than Temitayo - and is a better overall package than her. Although, Eric hesitates a little too much for me. He has so much potential in that voice if he just lets go but somehow, he refuses.

Double N:

I have no Idea what the organisers where hoping to achieve by calling it West African Idols,when it is very evident that most of the contenstants are fro m Nigeria and to imagine that only one non-Nigerian was present in the top ten!Why not just call the show Nigerian Idol.The judges chosen are not really the best West Africa has to offer can u imagine that DEDE has not released even a single Album in his entire Life!The selection process in the auditioning and Top 24 stages was very appalling,there was a guy from Ghana called Jarry who sang with more passion than any of the contestants and yet he was voted off,even a girl called Sintiki who sang one off Alicia Keys songs after being selected in the audition was nowhere to be seen in the top 24.As i would always say we have to get rid of our Nigerian Factor when we do things!

Men, I feel you for real. Jarry was good - too good. He was my favourite in group 2, and I was pained when he didn't make it. David Desmond was another good one. Great flexible and dynamic voice. I initially thought it would be David and Jarry but instead we got Jerilyn and Eric. I heard Syntyche decided on her own that she didn't want to continue, due to school and other stuff. Although the selection of top 24 from top 80 not transparent. No one knows the processes they followed. 80 were chosen from the auditions but we saw just 24 @ planet one. There were so many good singers in the auditions. The guy who sang "Kiss from a rose" in the Ghana auditions, I don't know what happened to him.

thabs:

I believe Eric and Temitayo should not have lasted this long. His speech was nice and he seems a fairly likeable guy, he just never had the voice or true performance skills from day one. He was trying too hard to be like Timi when performing, but he never had the true passion that emanates from Timi when singing.

I don't fully agree with you there, I think Eric does have the voice. Go listen to his "End of the road" performance - his best performance so far. He just doesn't use that voice well. Temitayo's just trying, she's got no voice (compared to the others).
As per Timi, he messed up big time. But then, i think the producers really wanted to test him. If you notice, Timi has always run away from fast songs, he usually does slow ballads in which his performance and voice skills can come out. So I guess the producers wanted to break that. His 1st one was OK but the 2nd one was woeful.
I see Timi and Omawumi making it to the finals. I hope Omawumi really tries her best, then we'll have some real competition. It'll be nice to be confused about who to vote for.
LAWYERCHAP, Where u @?

Double N:

there was a guy from Ghana called Jarry who sang with more passion than any of the contestants and yet he was voted off

Wow, thot i was da only one who noticed the incredible talent possessed by the Jarry guy,Nana made a comment that if people could get over his looks, they would vote him in, obviously they couldnt (even Nana couldnt) and that we ended up with people like Eric! am so glad his gone like yesterday

Just to correct you there Double N, there were actually 2 non Nigerians in the top 10, Timi and Jerrilyn. I must admit I have also been blinded by Eric's looks and watching his journey last night I couldn't believe that he was in the top 4 and I had contributed to that. He really is just not good enough. I guess looks do pay after all. As for the way forward now, guys we have to get rid of Tamitayo and let the best 2 remaining contenstancy battle it out for the title. I agree that Jerry dood was good, but you know what, the reality in the real world is that if you want to make it in the entertainment world you have to groom yourself. People do want to see good looking and fashion trendy entertainers and if you want to compete in the game you have to measure up. That shirt he wore in the top 24 did not go with the song he sang at all and was just all wrong! These guys have to realise what it takes to make it and it is survival of the fittest and not necessarily the best.

bonini:

Just to correct you there Double N, there were actually 2 non Nigerians in the top 10, Timi and Jerrilyn.

You meant Ernest? Ernest was the Ghanian guy who auditioned in Accra. Timi is from Bayelsa. Meanwhile, I don't think Jarry looked too bad - but I agree with you that looks do count. Otherwise why would Eric scale through ahead of Jarry and David? Ibitoru also had a great voice but looks were not too great.

Thanks Icon. All along I though Timi was from Ghana! I am from South Africa. Jerry's dress code was not up to scratch thats for sure. He should have done better if he was serious about winning.

Timi said he was born in Ghana , stayed there for a few years then came back to Naija,

Besides Jarry is Nigerian he was one of the contestants from Ibadan.


I watched the initial auditions I'm sorry to say but the non-nigerians that auditioned were not really very good.
I honestly don't think other west african were that interested in competing; worst case they would have travelled to the closest country to audition. That's what other peops do for Idols in their continents i.e travel loooooooooooong distances.

Maybe next year there will be more interest.

Then Sintyche , the chic dropped out at the top 80 (the idols has lasted for close to 4 months and she had to go to school)

Thanks for that. I thought Timi was Ghananian. I am sure more west africans will be interested next year if the current year winner does well. If Timi wins I will definately support and buy his cd's. They must just make sure that its distributed to other African countries so that we can support our favourites, if they win.

I really dont know what Temitayo is still doing there or how she got to the top 24.

salsera:


Besides Jarry is Nigerian he was one of the contestants from Ibadan.

Jarry is Liberian and auditioned in Accra.
There was no audition in Ibadan other Auditions were in Abuja, Calabar and Lagos

Holey moley! Another double header. This time it was director’s cut, where the contestants each had to perform two songs chosen for them by the producers. It meant that they could find themselves saddled with songs they had never heard, or worse, songs they absolutely abhorred. It worked well for some, but for others it was a night of horror. The producers showed a truly mean streak with some of their song choices and this was evident from the very first performance of the night.

It was new pet hate Temitayo singing Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” a song which had been performed at Top24 stage by Ibitoru, providing us with a standard to judge the top 4 performance. Temitayo’s performance was characterized by a voice that wavered unforgivably on the long drawn out notes that give the song its unique appeal. There was also a marked lack of energy in the performance. When I played her performance back to back with the Top24 performance, I was overcome with shame and disappointment. How did a talented lady like Ibitoru slip through our hands yet we find ourselves stuck with a wannabe without a shred of talent in the Top4? It boggles the mind at first, but then you realize that anyone sufficiently determined can buy the Idols title. And Temitayo has a most determined mother indeed.

Eric came to do Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” looking the part of a true backstreet guy. He brought a certain playful zest to his performance but the voice just didn’t do the song justice. It was flat, not so much as in being musically flat, but as in being emotionally flat. He couldn’t quite get me to believe in the lyrics of the classic song. He also appeared to be out of breath and struggling with some of the high points of the song. Dan put it most succinctly when he said the voice needs to catch up with the looks. Those looks seem to have cast a spell on everyone including his fellow contestants who all said that other than themselves, they’d like Eric to win Idols. But guaranteed, Idols may be won by a determined mother, but it will never, ever be won by looks.

Omawumi was up next with Natasha Bedingfield’s “I Bruise Easily”, a song she started on her back. It was one of the most creative openings I’ve seen at Idols. She picked up the tune and herself from the floor without missing a beat and went on to deliver a most beautifully erotic performance. Looking demure in a spectacular light blue gown she managed to look innocent while passionately singing lyrics that were capable of some less-than-innocent interpretation and succeeded in conveying those interpretations with her ever so sensual body language. Understandably she got a standing ovation from the audience. She has such a truly beautiful voice that makes me think she may actually be closer to the finished product than Timi.

Timi brought that honeyed voice to bear on George Michael’s “Faith” and the crowd went wild from the first note. But they had no idea what the boy from Bayelsa had in store for them. The song has always been a groovy all time favourite with its appeal cutting across generations and Timi was nothing short of excellent as he stole the song from George, almost convincing me I was watching an original composition. Then he flew off the stage and onto the Judges stage doing a seriously groovy dance. It was pure dynamite. And again, Planet one exploded. In the frenzy of the euphoric applause, Timi missed his cue yet again. But no one noticed, they were all too taken with the spectacle Timi was putting on. He brought the song home in amazing fashion, earning him another standing ovation.

The second half of the night started with another anemic performance from Temitayo. This time the unfortunate song was Cyndi Lauper’s classic “True Colours.” It was a peach of a song, and should have been easy to perform for anybody. Its beautiful tune and immense popularity were already an advantage for whoever performed it, but Temitayo’s voice was too ordinary and failed to ignite the song. Her body language also didn’t connect with the song, but it still was a million times better than her first performance as she still managed to hit a couple of beautiful notes in the song.

Eric came next to do Boyz II Men’s “I’ll make love to you.” The right kind of song for his voice yet he failed to rise to the occasion with a karaoke performance replete with strange twists in direction, uncomfortable tone changes and one piercing note that left me uncertain as to whether to applaud or to cringe. For me it was an average performance but which I wasn’t sure would be enough to keep him in the competition.

Omawumi appeared to have found favour with the producers because both her song choices fell kindly within her comfortable voice range, and we all know that once that happens we can count on Idols sexiest Top10 contestant to deliver the goods. She didn’t disappoint with Sheryl Crow’s “First Cut is the Deepest.” I don’t know how you deliver a song like she did with “I bruise easily” yet come back to give the crowd even more to shout about. She was absolutely phenomenal on the night. She took the classic song and did things with it that none of the original performers could have imagined possible. My favourite bit was where she pulled her sustained note with the multiple variations. It was a high risk maneuver because it caused her to lose her breath thereafter, making her sound forced on the notes that followed. But it was well worth the risk, if you ask me.

Timi has a problem. This may sound harsh but, fans of Timi (of which I am one) you’ll have to forgive me but I think this is really the problem.I'm on my knees begging your forgiveness as i say this, because i probably have no right to judge someone like this, but it is my candid opinion and i do have a right to speak my mind. I mean no disrespect to Timi, but i have to tell it like i see it. I think Timi is not really a bright chap. His IQ appears to hover around the range usually seen in eight year olds of the 80s. Memorizing two songs in a week appears to be just too much for him. He also has self esteem problems and will need a life coach if he wins the title. If you watch the interview on why he thinks he should be the one to win, he displayed this underdeveloped IQ with the most inane freestyle I hope I will ever have the misfortune of seeing. No disrespect. Timi is a phenomenal singer but I just don’t think he’s all there in the brains department. He has never been able to competently deliver two songs in one night and that gives me cause for worry. Imagine him on Oprah’s yellow couch being interviewed; all our hearts will be in our mouths wondering if he’s going to disgrace us. But put him on stage with any performer in the world, and we will all rest assured that he will perform…so long as its not more than one song.

The performance of George Benson’s “Give me the Night” was the worst performance at Idols, even worse than Ama’s famously off-key Top24 performance. At least she didn’t forget her lyrics. Timi completely lost the plot of the song and spent all of ninety agonizing seconds yelling “give me the night” into the microphone. Even before that he had uncharacteristically put a couple of notes horribly wrong and it was my first sign of impending disaster. He broke countless hearts across Africa with that abysmally pathetic performance, mine included.

But come results night and he was the only truly safe contestant. I guess the solid gold performances of the past have cemented the loyalty of not a few Africans, and for them, King Timi can do no wrong.

The next safe contestant was, incredibly, Temitayo. I am tempted to gloat and say I told you so (being that I predicted she would be in the Top 3, thanks to her mother) but this was one instance where I desperately wished I had been proved wrong. But there it was, Timi and Temitayo were safe, Omawumi and Eric were not. For once, logic won and the “Fine Boy” of Idols saw the dream collapse. Omawumi was safe and the toast of all females under twenty one was going home. He gave a nice speech and wished the survivor’s all the best. We wish him all the best too.

Please we all need to pray for Timi, he’s the best voice in the Top3. Let’s ask the Almighty to grant him total recall on his songs. It would be heartbreaking if he lost after coming this far. But if Omawumi were to win it, you wouldn’t catch me crying for Timi. What must not happen, but which I am beginning to believe we are powerless to stop, is Temitayo winning Idols West Africa. Please remember to vote massively for Timi and Omawumi. Please don’t vote for only one of them, vote for them both, that’s the only way to ensure Temitayo and her mother do not steal the title, to the embarrassment of all of West Africa. In her case, put her on Oprah’s couch for an interview and we’ll all be proud of her, but put her on stage and we’ll all cringe or run for the toilet.

See y’all next week.

Thanks lawyerchap for that late but good briefing.  Timi has always been a consistant performer with the exception of last Sunday.  I do agree with you where brains is concerned but this is not an interlectual competition, its a singing contestant.  How many clever musicians do you know out there?  We mustn't worry about the brains side of it, its not a very important tool of trade in this regard.  If the Madonnas and J Lows of this world do and say crazy and uninformed things, who are we to judge Timi on that basis? Lets not put too much pressure on the young man.  He must just do what he does best well, and thats singing.  No more forgetting words.  Thats all we ask for.

Once again great post Lawyerchap, but I have to disagree with you with the Oprah thing as the chances of being on Oprah are remote. As much as they are talking International Idol, the sad truth is that there have been hundreds of Idols shows around the world and they do not necessarily break internationally, So far, only Will Young, Kelly Clarkson and Carrie underwood,initially Ruben Studdard, have been able to go really big internationally and that is because they were given huge radio play. Also, the exposure they were given with an audience who watch American Idol of 40 million weekly. Even this does not necessarily translate to worldwide success as without excessive radio play it is virtually impossible to spread your fan base around the world. Clay Aiken in America has sold over 4.7 million cd's and yet they will not play him on the radio in United States as they say his sound is not current to fit with top 40. Trust me on this, I have followed his career and seen how he can sell out concerts, but the dj's and radio programmers barely give him a chance to be heard. He has existed on his own fanbase but it has not spread internationally. So to get to my point, the chances of West Africa idol ever getting to sit on Oprah are really remote, unless they have a hit that breaks massively to the point where it spreads around the world. Even Robbie Williams who is huge in the UK was not successful in the United States. They have their own stars who are trying to make it.

I happen to believe Timi is a world class performer, in fact I have NEVER on any American Idol seen a contestant that can perform so well, and seem so comfortable on stage. Timi is a born performer. His performances are spellbinding. But, do I believe he will even if he won, be a huge star internationally, and I say no, the publicity and exposure needed to break big is just not going to be given to an Idol. Timi will be a brilliant live entertainer, he will sell out concert halls, for his performances are a must to view, and he has a great recording voice, But the truth is, the stars that make it, have huge publicity machines behind them. Trust me, Idols franchise want to make quick money by selling a cd, and then, they are onto the next Idol, season two and three . Have any of the South African or Australian, or Canadian Idols, etc, etc, made it internationally!?. Most people have never heard of them I have watched this game for 6 years now. I know the ins and outs.

Most consistently delivered good performances have to go to Timi and to me that means the title. I really think his forgetting the lyrics, was the music was too fast, the key too low, and you could see he was not comfortable from the minute he started to sing. Besides which, I do think they handicapped him with a jazz song and a lousy arrangement of it.

I do think Omawumi is a good singer, but besides her African song, and two this week, she has not had spellbinding performances. I don't believe she knows how to truly connect emotionally to the audience. I, myself would not go watch her in concert.


As for the intelligence part, well, may or my not be true, but this is a singing competition. The formula why Idols is so successful is that you invest time and money voting for your contestant. This breeds a very devoted and loyal fan.
Another think that is true in a show like this, is that the public likes an underdog and would like to give an opportunity or a break to someone who would never have made it in the normal way. How many people can struggle in bars singing to a few people at a time, until they are DISCOVERED. Today, especially it is virtually impossible for this to happen, as today, you have to have looks, (see Britney Spears, Ashlee Simpson, Hilary Duff), all no talent, but a good package. The fact that Timi probably comes from an unpriveleged background, unlike Temitayo, makes him even more endearing and makes the public root for even more, besides the great talent.

Ok, that is my five cents worth

well,never really had time to watch the idols but was just bored last week and decided to watch,

and was immediately surprised.what with the kind of performance i saw and the level of quality programming.dont know most of the contestants though but i think all of them stand a chance of winning cos they really tried oooo,

will continue to watch whenever i get the time. cheers

@thabs
boy! you do know your Idols isht. but actually i wasn't saying that they would be interviewed by Oprah. I just used it to simulate a high stakes international exposure situation. Oprah, come on. That's a bit too much to hope for. Loved your post. It was really informative. Cheers.

Thanks thabs for that infor and I totally agree with you. lawyerchap you've got some competition now and you will have to do better research next time. Timi for life!!!

@ double n the singers from other countries men they were wacked trust me on that.

@ LawyerChap, I don't totally agree with you on the analysis of Timi. I just watched the performances and I agree Timi messed up with that no 2 song but men, It's a George Benson Song! Those songs ain't easy. Also, last week, Timi did great in both performances so it's not a question of 2 songs being too much for him. While I agree with you on his absolute lack of self confidence and his self consciousness during his interviews, that's not something that can't be changed. During his performance in the top 24, he was much better and more vocal in his replies to Nana and Dede's comments. Let's see as events roll out, and we'll know for sure

Temitayo's relatively average! We don't need such a voice representing West Africa. I do agree she has the confidence, but the competition is first a singing competition before any other thing. Right now, Omawumi is looking like she's stepping into Jodie's shoes. Her "I bruise easily" performance was the best I've seen her so far. It seems the producers studied the contestants' usual choices and discovered that Omawumi like fast songs and so decided to give her slow ones to see how she would perform. It worked the other way for Timi as he was given fast songs. Eric just messed up big time. I still believe he has a great voice , but he either does not have the required skill or he fails to use it well. I hope he's learnt his lesson.