The maiden edition of the Vodafone Icons, Divas Edition has come to a triumphant end with the group ‘R&M’ emerging as winners after beating their fiercest rivals Kolors and Keshi 3 in the grand finale to win the prizes at stake; a major recording deal, a GH¢20,000 cash prize for each member of the group and a slot to perform at the upcoming ‘020 Live’ Vodafone’s musical concert.
The group Rhythms and Melody shorten to R&M was adjudged as winners after going through two separate stages in the grand finale at the Accra International Conference Centre [AICC] in the presence of judges, coaches, family and friends. The series started with 8 groups, 5 were evicted to make way to the last three to fight for the crown.
Performing Their Favourite Song Of The Season:
Right on the commencement of the grand finale, the contestants picked and performed their favourite songs of the season. Keshi 3, made up of Nana Frema, Danielle Dugan and January Messel were the first to open the show.
They performed Angelique Kidjo’s ‘Akwaaba’. R&M followed up by performing ‘Don’t Stop The Music’. Doreen, Gloria, Evelyn from Kolors completed that segment by performing Steve Wonder’s ‘Signed, Sealed & Delivered’.
Keshi 3, who had already been saved twice by the judges from eviction, looked to be forcing too hard to be noticed as the judges comments didn’t come to a consensus on their performance.
Regardless of that, they managed to get praises from the female judges. In all indication, R&M’s triumph on the night started with their performing of ‘Don’t Stop The Music’, they were exciting to watch, fun to listen to, their versatility was felt by everyone.
Without any doubt, they picked a perfect song suitable for their voices and they nailed it. They showed something, that, the other groups lacked; energy on the stage. They can be described as a dynamic group.
Kolors performed a rendition of ‘Signed, Sealed & Delivered’ by Steve Wonder which also attracted positive comments from the judges.
Comments From The Judges:
After their performances, the presenter, Benny Blanco welcomed comments from the judges. The two female judges, Gena West and Stephanie Benson collectively concurred that, Keshi 3’s performances was great but Quantos disagreed saying “… You did well tonight but I must say that, it isn’t a winning performance for me”.
On R&M’s performances, the three judges came to a consensus as they praised them for their originality, choreography and creativity. Quantos said “A truly spirited performance. You came in to the challenge and you’ve stated your case, we will see how it goes”.
The group scored an A from Gena West “…Rhythm & Melody, that’s what you are. You definitely get an A from me for originality, your choreography. It looked as if you were free-styling, I’m sure you rehearsed but you made it too easy. True entertainers, well done.”
Stephanie Benson continued the praises “… You girls [ladies] are fabulous and I think you know that, because you are so confident on the stage, that it makes us [judges] comfortable watching you.”
Kolors had a standing ovation from the judges when they performed Steve Wonder’s ‘Signed, Sealed & Delivered’ during early part of the competition, hence performing it again at the finals.
They explained that, they chose the same song because they had a standing ovation from the judges when they performed the song last time and believe that could do the magic for them and rightly so, the judges loved their performance.
Gena West said “Girls, you are absolutely adorable. You have the best harmonies of the entire series. You are spot on…I have said it before and will say it again, signed, sealed and you delivered.”
Stephanie’s comment wasn’t entirely different from Gena’s. Quantos was economical with words here, “Kolors, I just want to say one thing, you girls can sing.”
Evicting Of Keshi 3:
Shortly after the comments from the judges, Keshi 3 was evicted from the competition to make way for R&M and Kolors in the finals.
Their votes were not enough for them to continue the competition. Their eviction meant, they had taken the third place.
Contestants Singing Their Own Songs:
The eviction of Keshi 3 paved way for R&M and Kolors to compete in the finals. In this segment, both contestants performed their own songs. The former performed a song titled ‘Let Your Head Down’ whiles the latter performed ‘Victory’, their respective singles.
All songs were produced by the celebrated sound engineer Appiah Danquah, popularly known as Appietus.
The judges didn’t comment on this segment, since its difficult to judge and comment on a song they are hearing for the first time. But obviously, R&M’s approach to their song and performance on stage was what separated them from Kolors.
Though, Kolors didn’t disappoint either with their performance, R&M looked like they wanted the title more than Kolors. The rapturous applause that erupted the auditorium as they were declared winners confirm their acceptance as worthy winners of the maiden edition of the Vodafone Icons, Divas Edition.
For winning the competition, Uche Ofodile, the Chief Marketing Officer of Ghana Vodafone presented a key to their new 4×4 car as well as cheque of GHC60.000.
Stephanie Lindsey Baaba, Natasha Dedey Mann & Denice Williams making the group each gets GHC20.000. Also on the prize is a trip to London.
ICONS: Divas edition is Vodafone’s newest ground-breaking reality TV show that seeks to discover, groom and showcase Ghana’s first super-girl group. The whole idea is to empower women to reach for their dream while providing quality entertainment for everyone by getting them involved in choosing the best group.
It is called ICONS because it brings alive our brand promise of ‘Power to You’ – we want to create a group that is Big, Bold and has a presence in the minds of Ghanaians. That is what we believe an ICON is and we are sparing no expense in creating something like that in Ghana.
Auditions were held in Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi and Tamale, where hundreds of girls were auditioned. 35 were shortlisted and 24 picked out from the number after vigorous segments to compete for the final prize.
The 24 girls were split into 8 groups; DIAMONDS (Alberta, Belinda, Barbara), KOLORS (Doreen, Gloria, Evelyn), KYSES (Lilian, Abby, Ernestina), CHILLI (Monica, Abigail, Sussana), KESHI 3 (Nana Frema, Danielle, January), R&M (Staphanie, Natasha, Denice), BREEEZE (Emmanuella, Zephora, Anita) and EBONI (Lucy, Betty, Valentina).
The contestants were judged by Gena West, Quantos, and Stephanie Benson and coached Freeman Daniel (Voice Coach), Rashid (Choreographer), Bessa Simmons (Music Director).
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