The 6th edition of the Star Quest musical reality TV show comes to an end tonight with a grand show at the ultra modern Expo Centre of the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. And the question on every lip is: who wins the coveted prizes that include mini van, N7.5 million recording contract, a well-appointed apartment and N3.6 million cash?
The battle for who emerges Nigeria’s next biggest and brightest band has been stiff and competitive; it has been an unending display of artistry and sheer will power inside the Star Fame Land since March 12. You can not fault these bands. They realize that it is either now or never; that there can be no better medium perhaps through which their musical ambitions can be realized than the Star Quest.
For the three surviving bands going into tonight’s finals, it has been a long journey through the labyrinths of music. They have sung classics, both foreign and local, predating their births. They have been mentored by the industry’s best, and tutored to blossom unfettered. Even for those that were evicted, it has been a wholesome experience.
When Star lager, the premium beer from Nigeria Breweries Plc, berthed with the idea of Star Quest, it was with the intention to bring anonymous music talents scattered all over Nigeria into a camp aptly named Star Fame Land where they would be groomed, refined and prepped for the global stage. It was just a dream that was, however, pursued with the characteristic vigour and tenacity that have kept the Star brand on top of competition after 50 years of operations.
Since 2002, the musical reality show has lived up to its promises to bestow on the music industry a big and bright band possessing all the basic requirements to compete on the global stage. There have been KC Presh, D’Jewels, D’Accord, Diamonds and The Pulse who are all competing impressively in the music industry. Significantly, The Pulse, 2009 winner, upped the ante when it featured Busta Rhymes, American rapper, on one of its tracks. Talk about the beauty of dreams.
Indeed, nothing happens unless one first dreams it.
And what Star Quest has been doing for these youth is to ensure that they are not dreaming alone in appreciation of the knowledge that when you dream with others, it helps to ensure the realization of such dreams. That the previous winners of the show are still together is the function of a dream to remain Nigeria’s biggest and brightest band. Tonight, another band with dreams would berth on the music stage. Which band will it be?