Star Quest Begins With 36 Finalists

Thirty six young Nigerians have emerged as finalists in this year’s edition of Star Quest, a musical talent hunt, organised by the Nigerian Breweries Plc.

At a grand audition held at the Lagoon Restaurant, Victoria Island, Lagos on Friday, 8 April, the aspiring stars were shortlisted from the regional auditions held in Abuja, Enugu, Benin and Lagos.

The judges, Paul Play, Freeze and KC of KC Presh fame, had a hard time making their selections from the very impressive array of talented young Nigerians at the audition. The contestants were made up of male and female vocalists, percussionists and instrumentalists.

At Fameland, the 36 contestants will form six musical bands of six members each. They will go through intensive rehearsals and musical coaching sessions to be handled by seasoned professionals. At some point, the six bands will be reduced to three through public voting via sms. The three successful bands will then proceed to the second level which is the grand finale, while final voting will be 100 per cent public via sms.

Jacco Van Der Linden, Marketing Director, NB Plc, said the musical talent hunt programme was initiated to discover and nurture talented young Nigerians into musical superstars.

“Star Quest is a unique talent hunt show because it is the only one in Nigeria that encourages aspiring musicians to form musical bands. Through this, we are providing a platform for talented individuals, especially the young ones, to develop their skills. As you have seen here today, these contestants are potential world music stars, with the kind of performances they have put up,” he said.

Star Quest remains Nigeria’s only musical talent hunt show dedicated to the emergence of musical bands in the country. Over the years, the show has discovered and produced young and talented Nigerian artistes that have gained prominence in the Nigerian music industry. They include KC Presh, D’Accord, D’Jewels, Diamonds, The Pulse and Jukebox.