<<Print>>

Anyone who doubted the claim that the MTN Hitmaker is the most original talent hunt should have been at the national theater last Wednesday. The show lived up to the claim as the remaining nine contestants performed their own songs. Originality is what makes the Hitmaker competition stands out, well, that and the fact that it�s the most rewarding TV reality show in Ghana. The contest for the GHC 100,000 prize package reached a whole new level in week three, the contestants came out and gave audiences what would go down this season as the fiercest contest. But before the show of originality came the dreaded eviction. The excitement on the faces of the contestants turned emotional when the result of the public voting was presented on stage. The fear of eviction was written over all but three faces, Abena twice in a row winner of the breakout moment, yaw and Oneday were safe from eviction as they emerged as top performers last week. Twice on the other hand was not that lucky, he had to kiss his dreams of winning the GHC 100,000 prize package goodbye as he was the third contestant to be evicted. With eviction out of the way, the stage was clear for the show of originality and Awurama was the first to showcase her originality. Her own song, �Who I Am� was produced by Magnom one of Ghana�s ace Beat makers. The Judges and the live audience got to see a side of Awurama they didn�t know existed. She sang her heart out and justified her inclusion in the competition. After Awurama showed us who she was, Kidi came on stage to perform his song �Carry Me Go� and boy, did he carry us with his song. His song, produced by Kaywa one of the few A-list best makers in Ghana, was on point and the judges loved it. He was confident; he commanded the stage and his vocals were clear. Okyeame Kwame applauded his voice clarity and Kwesi Aboagye gave him a thumb up for his amazing performance. Then came the self-proclaimed CEO of the fat boy era, CJ. He mounted the stage and gave a performance that left the judges stunned. His song, �I Red� produced by Magnom brought out a CJ that was a confident and a true performer. He delivered memorable punch lines, engaged the crowd and even got Eazzy to give him a standing ovation. His stage presence was excellent and the judges all agreed that he had polished his act. Eazzy acknowledged the good production of the song, Okyeame Kwame said he was brighter than a star and Kwesi Aboagye summed it all up by saying he was getting better and better each week. CJ blew all three judges away. Efo was next to show his originality and his performance of his song �Show Your Power� produced by Kaywa got a mixed reaction from the judges. Even though he entertained the crowd, Kwesi Aboagye disagreed with Eazzy and Okyeame Kwame who loved the exciting performance. Even though Akwesi did not love the performance, the audience loved it because they jumped in excitement during his performance. The kid danger Yaw was next, he gave meaning to the theme �Breakout� as he sang his song �Missing You� produced by Magnom like a professional. His song could rival any hit on the market now. Kwesi Aboagye summed up the judges� approval of his performance when he said that �dynamite comes in small packages�. Yaw blew the judges away with his powerful voice that came from his tiny body. Glory on the other hand took the opportunity to add dance moves to his exceptional voice abilities, performing his song �Chineke� produced by Richie, one of Ghana�s best beat makers. Glory gave the judges a smooth performance and got gunshots from the crowd even before he began singing. Performing to the song �Horror fuor� produced by Richie, one could say that he had the best crowd engagement on the night as he got them to sing along throughout his performance. He got a thumbs up from all three judges.