Pop Idol West Africa

I come home from my Northern trek to two tv addicts - Bibi and sis-in-law Yetunde are official Pop Idol West Africa addicts. The show (broadcast on South African channel M-Net Series through DSTV) started last week. Having just watched an hour of it, I can see why. The three judges are Lagos based Cool FM Christian DJ Dan Foster, a Ghanaian singer named Abrewa Nana, and ex-Fela muso Dede Mabiaku. What's interesting is that a lot of the contestants (who have to sing acapella) are from the evangelical Christian gospel tradition, singing 'I believe I can fly' with warbly voices. Dan Foster goes along with this format, but Dede and Nana don't like the style at all. Dede (who plays the Simon Cowell grumpy critic role) knows his music and often has insightful critical comments, but more than anything, he's a theatrical joy to watch, with his husky baritone voice and dramatic hand-to-forehead gestures. So we have secular critique on Nigerian tv. Some of the singers are genuinely talented, but the evangelical-gospel style quickly becomes tedious.