'Grab The Mic' On

Over three hundred superstar wannabes and talented hopefuls alike defied downpours and unfavorable weather conditions to gather at Fridays, Sakumono, to participate in auditions for Star Beer�s �Grab the Mic� reality singing competition powered by Empire Entertainment. The first day of the zonal competition, last Friday, saw the contestants taking turns to impress the panel of judges which included contemporary highlifer and crooner, Kwabena Kwabena, Hitz FM�s DJ Pepsi and Multimedia Broadcasting�s Cox Tamakloe. The judges were on the lookout for the contestants� vocal capabilities, style/posture, key/pitch tone and their microphone techniques. At the end of the first day�s auditions, the number was cut down to ten for the next day�s final competition. Fridays Bar and Restaurant was once again jam-packed on Saturday, day two, as audiences were treated to thrilling and very improved performances from the finalists, all in an effort to impress the judges, now composed of singer/television personality Jackie Ankrah, Hiplife emcee A-plus in addition to Kwabena Kwabena and Cox Tamakloe. The ten were required to perform any popular song in the first round after which the number was cut down to five. The top five including Khaleb, Ransford, Sheila, Racquel and CK Ayabbah then went on to sing their personally-composed Star Beer theme songs. On the night, all the finalists definitely came out much more poised to impress, though it seemed that silky voiced Racquel Ammah as well as Khaleb were emerging crowd favorites, as the night�s competition wore on. The evening�s entertainment also featured a compelling performance by Reggie Zippy who managed to get the crowd singing along to hit songs �Adoma,� �Virgin� and others. When it came down to the moment of truth, the judges chose Racquel, Sheila and Khaleb to be in the top three. However, only two contestants would be able to represent the Greater Accra Zone in the main competition which promises a grand prize of GH�4000, a recording contract, an endorsement deal from Star Beer and lots more in the National Competition to be held later this year. Sheila Brown thus came in second runner-up whiles the crowd favorite Racquel emerged victorious at the end of the night. Racquel, Sheila and Khaleb each took home cash prizes of GH�500 GH�300 and GH�200 respectively as well as packages from Star Beer. Speaking at the ceremony, Jesse Agyapong, Senior Brands Manager, Lager, reaffirmed Star Beer�s commitment to supporting the harnessing and development of hidden talents in all its �valued consumers� and promised �more brand activations for all consumers.� The event was organized by Empire Entertainment and sponsored by Star Beer. The Star Beer �Grab The Mic� train�s next stop is Ho in the Volta Region for the second zonal competition.