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[b]NIGERIAN MUSIC REALITY TV SHOWS ARE NOTHING BUT CREATIVITY KILLING SHOWS!!!

Some few years back, many positive minded Nigerians would have predicted that the advent of musical reality TV shows in Nigeria such as Project Fame, Nigerian Idol, Peak Talent Show, Lukozade Freestyle, Star Quest and even the so called Naija Sings would bring many upcoming and underprivileged Nigerian artistes to quick stardom. Some intelligent social analysts might have even expected a great and rapid improvement in the Nigerian music industry in terms of creativity, originality and professionalism. But contrary to all what the well meaning Nigerians might have expected, none of the so called eventful musical reality TV shows has been able to live up to the standard in which it was established.

For clarity, I shall limit the scope of my criticism to four key aspects of the competition which are: the concept, the screening process, the judges and the result.

THE CONCEPT

It is no longer news that majority of the Nigerian musical reality TV shows are not founded on indigenous or homemade ideas, though some may sound Nigerian. Majority of them (if not all) are brought to Nigeria on foreign franchise. Judging from this, it is important for the Nigerian upcoming artistes to be aware that the idea behind these shows is not to make them whom they are or whom they dream to become but to be whom the producer of the idea wants them to be. Whenever I sit to watch any of the Nigerian musical reality shows, I do not see Nigerian mega star artistes in the making, rather I see the likes of Celine Deion, Lionel Richie, Michael Bolton, R Kelly, the late Witney Huston and the Legendary Michael Jackson in black skin. At almost every instance of the show, I am tempted to ask myself why Nigerians have to sound foreign in their country before they could be heard. Why must I sound exactly like Michael Jackson before you know I am the next Nigerian Super Star artiste?

No doubt, the basis of this idea of clothing the Nigerian upcoming artiste in borrowed robes is as a result of the concept behind the shows. And if care is not taken, my fear is that we may be unconsciously and foolishly dragged to the era of oversaturation of foreign music in the Nigerian music industry which would eventually pull many successful locally groomed Nigerian star artistes to the foreign musical industry (just as it is already evident in the official signing of some Nigerian Star artistes by some big time recording labels in America). Though many Nigerians will see the recording deal as a form of global partnership, I see it as a conscious effort by the Americans to repossess the Nigerian (the most populated black nation) music industry.

THE SCREENING PROCESS

Here, I think we need to be more realistic and practical. Have you ever imagined what would be the reaction of any of the judges of the Nigerian musical reality TV shows when encountered with the likes of D’banj (with one of his old tracks Tongolo), Wired Mc (with her famous Ijo ya), Dj Zeez (with his hit track Foka sibe), 2face (with his well known Only me), Timaya (with his debut Kalangolo) during auditioning? I am very sure that you will agree with me that they would all be sent out; considering the fact that they would not be allowed to sing with any readymade beat except for the use of some musical instruments such as mouth organ, trumpet and the guitar (and that is only allowed in rare cases).

Now, if the so called Nigerian Super artistes could not have made it to the competition, how much more the helpless upcoming artistes. This leaves me to think about how many 2face Idibia, D’banj, Timaya, Wierd Mc we might have lost in the Nigerian musical industry. If truly these shows were to discover talents and push them to stardom, I see no reasons why the organisers or the producers shouldn’t have found a better means of screening the contestants other than the traditional system. I suggest that they fix some appointments with good entertainment consultants for a more comprehensive, intensive and result oriented screening system.

Apart from that, other crucial factors that are to be considered before organising any screening/auditioning for a musical reality TV show are the congestion of participants, the psychological effects it has on their performance during the auditioning and the time factor. In most cases, regarding the time factor, it is observed that the judges attend to the first batch of contestants better than the other batches because of time constraints and stress factor. A closer look at all these factors will help to show the influence they have on the judges’ decisions and the participants’ perception.

THE JUDGES

Before considering who judges any of the musical reality TV shows in Nigeria, I think there are some factors that the organisers of the shows have to consider. These are: the integrity of the panelists, their industry credibility (this entails their technicality and professionalism in the Nigerian music industry) and their ability to prove themselves as worthy role models for the contestants to emulate. From what we have on ground in the Nigeria musical reality shows, one can count only few decision makers (one or two) who comply with the basic requirements mentioned above. Then, I begin to wonder how the likes of Charley Boy (Area Father), Daddy Presh, Wierd Mc, Alariwo, and many others find their way to some of the decision making panel of the Nigerian musical reality shows.

To be candid, we need to ask ourselves what any of the above mentioned personalities have done to the development of the Nigerian music industry. As far as I am concerned, I think Charley Boy would have been a better judge for a competition organised for the Okada riders (commercial motorcyclists) instead of being a judges in one of the Nigerian musical reality shows. From his physical appearance (body piercing et al) to his contribution to the growth of the Nigerian music industry, I think Charley Boy is a good example of who a judge ought not to be. I can never allow my kids to sit and watch any programme that has such personality as a judge, let alone giving them the chance to participate in such competitions. I don’t have any personal dislike for Charley Boy or any other persons mentioned; I respect them all as individuals having the freedom to express themselves in their own special way but I feel the idea of morality that is needed to be impacted to the upcoming artistes cannot be conveyed through such ambassadors.

Another striking issue about the system of judging in the Nigerian musical reality show is the derogatory and demoralising comments that are uttered from the so called judges. In fact, it is very obvious that most of the judges are careless and irrational in the way they handle their comments after assessing the performance of the contestants. I suggest that proper psychological and sociological trainings should be conducted for the judges before sitting on the panel. Have you ever imagined the number of upcoming artistes that would have changed their musical career as a result of the ‘get away!’, ‘shut up!’, ‘fly out now!’, ‘Nonesense!’, ‘No way!’ etc. that they get from the judges of the Nigerian musical reality TV shows? Think about the vision, creativity, ambition and upcoming talent that must have been murdered by the judges of our so called celebrated musical reality TV shows. By now, I am sure you will understand why I tag them as creativity killing TV shows.

THE RESULT

It is never in my intention to dig deep on this section; rather, I intend to make you the judge. My idea of result is not the immediate end product of the judges, it is not the announcement of the winners but it is what happens next after the result of the winners has been announced, it is the actual solution to the problems that the organizers of the shows claim to solve.

On this note, one is tempted to ask these few questions: how many upcoming artistes have they transformed to reigning celebrities so far? Are there follow up measures in place for the underprivileged contestants? Are there career orientation schemes provided for any of the participants? What kind of winners do the organisers of the shows finally produce (You may have to take a clue from their concepts)? All these and many more are what I would want you to provide answers to after carefully watching any of the Nigerian musical reality TV shows.

N.B.: This article is never meant to ridicule or castigate anyone or any organisation mentioned above, it is meant to analyze the social significance and effects of certain aspects of the popular Nigerian musical reality TV shows, the writer sees this piece as an attempt to revolutionalize the concept of most Nigerian entertainment producers.

Akinyele Kurlarday is a Creative Consultant and Research Analyst at Playmyjamz Entertainment Ltd. You can reach him via kurlarday@gmail.com or follow him on twitter via @kurlarday[/b]