The Night the Stars Went Home...

TV - Reality - The Gist

All photos courtesy of the Star Quest site

It was the finest of nights and it was the most horrible of nights. In one fell swoop, 3 of the 6 most talented rising bands in Nigeria had to kiss the silver screen and their millions of faithful viewers goodnight and go home.

In any typical TV Reality show, every Eviction event holds its own unique place but no other reality show does Eviction Night like Star Quest does. Only SQ has kept the distinction of having the best and worst night rolled into one and hours after watching the 3 bands with the least votes go home, the butterflies in many a tummy were yet to settle.

The seriously-dreaded, long-awaited, stomach-churning night eventually had to come around no matter how far away we viewers and they, the contestants wanted to put it off. Nigeria Breweries PLC’s talent show was gradually winding down and Eviction Night, 11:30 pm Thursday 8th May to 12:30 am Friday was the one of the signals heralding the end.

Expulsion night began with a recap of the pre-Eviction acts held the previous night where each band put in their best and sang their hearts out to solicit for hard-earned votes. Six blistering performances later, the contestants decided to do something that had never been done before in all the 4 Seasons of Star Quest; they all jointly composed and presented a Thank You song!

With all the unforgettable events that went on in Fameland, this was undoubtedly the most excellent. For a moment all divisions and band affiliations were forgotten as the 36 contestants threw in their individual and collective best to express their appreciation for being given the shot at celebrity status. The vocalists showcased the wonderful power of their chords as they hit their high notes, the horns led and the guitars followed smoothly like butter and silk; it was just simply beautiful, flaws and all…

But eventually, the instruments were silenced, the 36 Talents went to their rooms and the Deep Voice of Doom began the dreaded announcements. And soon the turntable stopped turning and the party ended for B-Sixz, Spectrum and Next…

The way the axe fell must have surprised many especially as the lack-luster Expozee got to stay at the expense of their better contemporaries like B-Sixz (which every other band said were the best apart from themselves). Also shocking was the elimination of the hardworking, confident, gender-equal Next whose female vocalists always strove to show their lyrical versatility while the only female drummer, Tope “Top Sticks” Odebiyi displayed her percussion prowess for the band.

But then, it was the votes that really, really counted…

And so the die was cast for the 3 other bands that would go on to make history: Expozee, Da Heritage and The Diamonds.