Vodafone Icons: too close to call
If it was an election to political office, the final of the Vodafone Icons Remix show which comes off on Wednesday at the National Theatre may be described as ‘’too close to call’’ because of the heat the competition has generated since the five finalists were announced a little over a fortnight ago.
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The five: Alice, Ratty, Titi, Chris and Cina, who recently returned from an experiential tour of Johannesburg, South Africa, appear to have suspended the after-glow of that trip and have for the last few days, set their eyes on the grand prize, a Nissan Qashqai SUV and a 100,000 cedis recording deal.
Unlike other such competitions which often throw up a particular contestant ahead of time as a probable winner, this edition of Vodafone Icons has remained a note-by-note affair since the competition was halfway through the qualifiers.
Each of the contestants has shown a peculiar flair that may see them through to the prize. Take Ratty, the rapper as an example.
Despite his shortfall in the melody department, he has survived the difficult evictions week after week and although he actually flunked in the final week, he quickly bounced back, thanks to the votes of the public and the thumbs-up from the judges.
Judge Miss Naa has been quoted in an interview as saying that she had been overwhelmed by the remarkable performances of the girls in the competition and wished that a girl emerged the ultimate winner.
That girl could be any of Cina, Alice or Titi. Cina has demonstrated that she is a risk taker as she appears comfortable with songs that appeal more to the artistic ear than to the mass of people.
Then there is Alice and there is Titi. Alice has been a one-time winner of the Best Act prize and she appears to spring a surprise when it is least expected. On her part, Titi seems to enjoy quite a following with the public and she knows it as week after week, she improved her act to measure up to the expectation of her fans.
Chris has proven to be an all-rounder and he must have felt very comfortable in the competition and looked all smooth sailing until he came face-to-face with eviction at the last moment and was only saved by the judges’ hammer.
So on Wednesday night, until the final note is sang, no one can tell which of the five finalists will become the ultimate Vodafone Icon of 2014.
It has been learnt from the organisers that on stage the final night, will not be just the contestants but there will also be a ‘’show-us-how’’ collaborative performance by two of the judges. Guess who.
Again, the Icons will prepare two songs each for the night. The first, to be performed by all five, would be the judges’ choices based on perceived vocal strengths of the contestants.
The second round of performances, which will be exclusive to the top three contestants, will be songs that are composed by the performers themselves.
