Of East African Idols and Displaced Loyalties...

I must confess, i was esctatic when i found out that "Idols" was finally coming to east and southern africa. i have been religiously following the show online, from the auditions till now. the 24 contestants have slowly dwindled to 3. the prize at stake? $80,000. quiet some change aye?
now, this is the point at which i express my disappointment at the way in which africa has voted. it's funny that the most talented are the ones who have been voted out. that is, with the exception of the kenyan beauty, cynthia. cynthia, oh cynthia! she who never should have made it to the contest in the first place (and i do blame the judges for this), but who was sustained by the votes of thousands of kenyans and others who were obviously blinded by her beauty, or who felt an obligation to keep her in the competition out of a sense of national loyalty.
actually, this is what happened. at the beginning of the contest were 6 kenyans out of 24 contestants. in my opinion, only 4 out of the 6 kenyans could sing well enough to qualify to be in the competition (i don't think katungulu is that gifted either). for whatever reason, kenyans (yes, kenyans, since i think they bear the most guilt), lost the plot somewhere along the way and started voting as if this was a Miss Africa competition. they sent the talented 4 packing and kept the one who could not deliver a decent note (okay, maybe that's a bit over the top. she wasn't that bad, but she wasn't up to par for a competition of this calibre). My heart dropped when they sent priscilla and doris home, since, in my opinion, these were the best of the kenyan bunch. life really isn't fair, is it? can you imagine how jittery the other top 10 contestants felt, having realized that talent, or a lack of it, didn't have anything to do with who went home?
so, finally, africa woke up from their "cynthia-spell' and sent her packing. and the judges said, "let the real competition begin." well, has the real cometition really begun? a look at the final three contestants will show that no, it hasn't. of the three finalists, the only person who deserves to be there (and i'm sure many will concur) is eric. ammara, who was no doubt the most talented (even though her participation in the competition was disputed by many to begin with) was sent home. and so were mkhulili and and adiona. it seems to me that ugandans are busy voting en-masse to ensure that their nicolette stays put, even though it's obvious that she is definitely no competition for many of the others who've been sent packing. trinah is okay, but no match for adiona or ammara, in my opinion. eric is definitely talented (though i think he growls a little to much). so the big question is, who will walk away with the big benjamins?
let's hope that africa does all the other fallen (talented) contestants justice by ensuring that the best man really does win. one thing's for sure - nothing is assured in this competition. i guess we'll just have to wait and see, right?

to watch videos of the performances, go to www.mnetafrica.com/idols


P.S. In spite of what I think of Cynthia's singing, I salute her for her graciousness and composure in spite of all the negative comments and ill feelings of some towards her. I wish her all the best, and I know she will go far.