Unlike  the biblical Day of Atonement where sinners penitently went before God  for  cleansing  and forgiveness of sin, contestants in the Star Quest reality  television  show,  yesterday,  did  a  clinical,  dispassionate assessment  of  their  strengths  and weaknesses. It was their 15th day in Fame  Land  and about ten days as members of the six bands vying for fame, fortune  and  placement among Nigeria ’s biggest and brightest bands. That is  enough time to have understood one another’s whims and idiosyncrasies, strengths  and  weaknesses  as bands. According to a member of the Jukebox who  confessed  to have gained so much in this year’s quest especially the early  morning  exercise  and the rehearsals, “The strength of our band is the  diversity of talent (that) we have. We have a rapper that is so good: A  lead  vocalist  that  has  his  own style and a female vocalist that is equally very good. These are the things helping us as a band.”  The  Spotlight  Crew agrees that “The problem with our band is the vocals, we are not hitting it.” Thereafter, viewers were shown a scene where other members  of the crew were admonishing a remorseful Jeffrey who is supposed to  be  the lead vocalist but fails to live up to his responsibilities. “I don’t  even  know  what  to  do,”  the gangling Jeffrey muttered under his breath.  “The  problem  with  him  is  inferiority  complex.  He  has  no confidence.  He is not giving enough,” says the female member of the crew. She  agreed  however that what the band has going for it is the ability to understand each other; “We are united despite the ups and downs.”   

Members  of  the Sapphire Blue say that the strength of the band is hinged  on  the  fact  it is a collection of diverse people with different skills. Ene  Adobunu,  the  only female band leader, says the weakness of Sapphire Blue  rests  solely  on her. “As a woman, it is not easy leading a band of males; they all have their egos which I am coming to terms with. What I do is  to  listen  more and pay attention to them,” she said. Adobunu concurs that  beyond  the  occasional  ego  trip  of  the male members, “We have a temperament problem. Some of us have a problem of understanding each other but we are trying to get along fine.”                                     

Similarly,  the  Oxygen  says  that  the  major  problem confronting it is intolerance  but,  “We  are  learning and coping.” The band’s strength, it said,  lies  in  its  unity,  confidence  and  cooperation.  Victor  Abam, dreadlock-wearing  leader  of  the Ace Vibes, opines sincerely, “We have a little  distortion.  We are not putting ourselves together perhaps because we  are  from different backgrounds and cutting off those barriers did not come  easy.” What has been happening in the Hurricane is a mishmash of the good,  bad  and  ugly.  “The  bad  is  that  we  talk too much rather than rehearse. The good is that when we are ready to learn, we listen and learn and we are very good,” said a member of the band.                         

Thereafter,  the bands retired to the pool side as they went into the task of  the  day which was performing a reggae song of choice. Once again, the bands  proved  that  their musical dexterity goes beyond just contemporary music  as  they  performed songs from the repertoires of Peter Tosh, Lucky Dube,  Wyclef  jean, Bob Marley and Shaggy.

Two days from now, three bands would leave the Fame Land , and effectively, forfeit their chance to stake a  claim  for  the title of Nigeria ’s biggest and brightest band. But you can  make  these  ambitious  youths  who  have come this far realize their ambition  to  be  the  next  Star Quest winner by continuing to vote. Your votes count.