TALENT "HAUNT" SHOWS

The current crave for talent hunt shows in Nigeria is really alarming, every cooperate body and individual are all into talent hunt shows. Musicians themselves are even very well involved in organising talent hunt shows. Our local television stations are smiling to the bank judging by the number of talent hunt shows been aired every day across the country, its a good money making sector for the stations and they even shift their news broadcast further back to accommodate the talent hunt show which equally is viewers delight. The idea of the talent shows is to search and empower a newly discovered talented musician. Different methods are devised in selecting the winner by different talent hunt show organiser, but the goal is to discover a real talented individual among the rest and make him/her a superstar. But the question on everybody’s mouth is that are these talent hunt shows really producing real talents? And is it only the TV stations that are making profit from these programmes? And what is in it for the organisers? Modern talent hunt show originated form America and the American idol is the world leading and biggest talent hunt show in the world. It parades a well-experienced panel of judges consisting of Grammy/platinum award artistes, music business mogul and world acclaimed music producers. The programme over the years has produced talented musicians, platinum selling artiste and Grammy award nominees and winners. Jennifer Hudson is a product of American Idol and she has gotten a Grammy nomination and she’s a platinum selling artiste. The European version is the X-factor produced by one of the judges of American Idol Simon Cowell who is a music mogul recently called upon by the British Prime minister to produce a single to raise money for HAITI. X-factor has produced talented British artiste like Alex burke who has turned into international superstar after her exploit in the music talent hunt show.
The origin of Commercial Talent hunt show is Nigeria and the number of talent hunt show on TV makes you wonder how profitable this shows are to the organisers, and how profitable the shows are to the young boys and girls that scramble to appear on the shows. The real intention is to help and promote poor talented individuals by getting them a good record deal and rewarding them with monetary incentives to improved their social status and improve their standard of leaving so as not to waste their God given talents. The gain of the organisers I believe is in the record deal they sign with the artiste, which should be fees for promoting the artiste as it is done in other record label world wide. But the Nigeria factor has turned talent hunt show the other way round. The primary subject of the programme is the fee obtained from selling of forms to intending new stars, thousands of forms are sold across the country bringing in a very good figure and all what the intending superstars get in return is few seconds in front of the unqualified judges. The initial talent hunt show in Nigeria produced KCPRESH who until now are still struggling in the musical scene though they are said to be wealthy without selling high number of Cds. The duo are not in the music mainstream musically and what do you expect of the outcome of a group that were signed by the recording label owned by two of the panel of judges that screened them. The MTN project fame is the best-organised talent hunt show across the Continent and it is also a very profit-making avenue for the telecom giant, they make loads of money through viewer’s text messages which is the only medium 150million Nigerians can participate on the show. The products of the programme has not been too impressive with Omawunmi in slight exemption, other past winners are not visible musically though the telecom company is trying to keep them close in there various social events they are just not musically ready. The first flaw in talent hunt show in Nigeria is the money-oriented status of the shows, majority of the multinational companies and artiste engage in the programme to extort intending fame seekers who part with the all they have to obtain forms to participate in the show, telecom companies are partnered to extort the viewers in form of text messages sent to participate in the show and other companies fall over each other to get advert slot on the shows that is aired all across the country and even seen in close neighbouring countries. The biggest insult is given to the fame seekers by the composition of judges on the programme, and some of these intending judges are far better in music than the judges. All talent hunt show organisers commercialised the programme to the aspect of the judge’s compilation. The MTN project fame is the biggest and is sure to pay the judges more than other mushroom talent shows. The composition of these panel is commercially oriented and this explain why Joke Silva and Kwame who both are not relevant in music world, though the latter used to be a disc jockey it still does not allow him to judge a good entertainer. I am not familiar with the other woman, but I think Ty mix is the only right person on the board. I was also surprised when I saw Dede Mabiaku on board of judges of West African idol and I wondered is he a musician? This is someone that cannot release an instrumental single not to talk of a song since the death of his mentor over a decade ago. Should Dede be evaluating an artiste when he himself needs evaluation. Another talent hunt show organised by a certain Niger Delta artiste bankrolled by Delta state government is another show of shame and extortion. How can comedians like Bovi and others be judges to evaluate young talents? . Nollywood artiste are now judging musicians, people that will sent out of their churches if they intend to lead praises are now world acclaimed music scouts. Artiste like Olu Maintain, Konga, Durella, Rugged man, and so many lucky artistes we have now would never have made it if they had gone to such talent shows. There is no single product of Talent hunt show that has surpassed the fame and talent of self discovered Terry G, opportunist like Dede and others would have discouraged him. Many of our artistes enjoy good airplay time on radio stations due to what they have to give the disc jockeys on duty and thus they force their non-melodious music on us, music videos are been shot all over the world with the best equipment you can think of but our artiste are just riding on the economy crunch to impose their slang and revolutionary song on our youth. The likes of Sunny Ade and Obey got their music lessons from those they met in the scene and it applies to Orlando Owoh, Shina Peters and other legends in Nigeria music scene. Majority of the artiste we have now are using their financial power to gain popularity their pairs and listeners. Majority of them will never see fame if they were judged by well experienced panel of judges, or imagine can one of the best of Nigerian Musician compete with greenhorns on X-factor or American Idol. Am sure an artiste like Tony Tetuila or Konga will never make it past the auditioning stage. Or do you believe a serious music scout will invest in Olu Maintain’s singing style? . At least Omawunmi had to go out with a music scout/producer to attain little stardom after been a runner in African largest regional talent hunt. We cannot produce a single music star if the same mentality is implored in talent hunt shows, the idea of making money from contestants rather than carefully and professionally scouting for genuine talented individuals will further destroy the music scene and will greatly discourage the intending stars. Nothing good can come from talent hunt shows that parade the likes of Dede, Julius Agu, RMD, Stella Damasus, Saint Obi, Joke Silva, Jide kosoko and host of Nollywood actors. The regulators of programmes shown on TV and those that sanctions programmes that are deceptive to viewers should intervene and save the innocent contestants ripped off by these misleading talent hunters. Stop insulting intending stars and stop toying with their career by laughing, drinking and mocking behind the high table of inexperience you people sit on in the mushroom talent shows across the country.