KC PRESH AS STAR QUEST JUDGES

I appreciate what Nigerian Breweries is doing in encouraging and supporting budding young Nigerian musical talents with their program: STAR QUEST. Undoubtedly, Star Quest has given many youths a platform and recognition that they normally might not have gotten if not for the program. As a matter of fact, my friend Tunde, is a part of the Pulse, the winners of the 2009 edition of star quest. The young lads, and lass have gone on to become household names with their hit singles ‘so tey,’ and they even featured Busta Rhymes in the remix of that song.
Having said all that, I must register my displeasure at the way some of the judges of star quest have been conducting themselves.
I was watching the audition/screening of the new season of star quest on TV few days ago, and I was miffed at the way KC of KC Presh addressed some of the contestants.
Granted, some of the contestants had no business been in that competition because they obviously lacked the talents to be musicians, but there are better ways to disqualify people from a competition without injuring their pride and ego.
KC was rude to some of the contestants, and that wasn’t nice. If recollection serves me correctly, KC PRESH were the pioneer winners of the competition. The won the prize by singing a popular Christian song, which they made slight modifications to. For years, that was the only song they performed at shows, and people soon got tired of them. A lot of Nigerians complained that they couldn’t see the talents that KC Presh possessed which warranted them winning the competition.
Several years down the line, KC Presh cannot boast of any major hit, so I thought KC would at least be understanding of the plight of those ‘poor’ upcoming musicians, but not so.
As a matter of fact, lots of people have gone on to become successful musicians after they had been turned down and rejected. A popular example is D’banj, who wasn’t allowed to sing in his church choir.
If we take a look at the top musicians in the country right now, most of them wouldn’t stand a chance in competitions like Star Quest or Project Fame. This means that musical skills aren’t the only prerequisites for stardom. Things like charisma, and personality of the artist play very important roles as well. Timi Dakolo, a gifted musician by all standards, won the Celtel Idols competition, but yet, his impact is yet to be felt in the Nigerian music scene.
Some of the people KC insulted could easily turn out to be tomorrow’s hit makers, and then what would KC do? Run to them for collaborations?
If you ask me, I’d say that the only reason why KC Presh is on the panel of judges is because they were the pioneer winners of the competition. KC doesn’t possess any obvious musical skills, so he is not even qualified to pass judgment on those contestants whose only ‘sin’ was to pick up the nomination forms.
Simon Cowell, of the American Idols fame, who KC might actually be trying to imitate, is abrasive alright, and it works for him, but he has also got on the wrong sides of people lots of times. If anybody should be abrasive, it shouldn’t be KC, been that he is a musician with roots in Ajegunle, so he knows what upcoming musicians face in this country.
Like I said earlier, there are lots of ways to pass your points across candidly without been rude or hurting the person involved. An unpleasant word in the presence of a crowd and on T. V for that matter is capable of damaging a person’s morale for life.
KC, please don’t get carried away. You are a role model, and your duty is to inspire people and not discourage them.
I rest my case!

PS: Kudos to Nigerian Breweries. Keep up the good work.