Night of Talent Show in Vicenza

A 5-hour night of musical entertainment brought together 38 Ghanaian artistes at a Show of Talents in Vicenza, Italy. The 380-seater splendid theatre of the City Council, located in the heart of the city, was not filled to its full capacity for the event but the audience created an atmosphere of enough loud cheers that reverberated outside the enclosed main hall.

For the first time, in 3 years covering such events about the Ghanaians community in Italy, I saw two young Ghanaians as Show Presenters, Jessica Koffi and Obed Duku (a.k.a Worshiper), who appeared capable of giving a helping hand to Eddie Osei Bonsu, who seems the only celebrated Show Presenter on the big stage within the community. I was impressed about their performance as young and dynamic youths starting from the bloc under this entertainment industry.

Thirty eight contestants for such a Show appeared over packed but each had the chance to exhibit what they have in store which sent the entertainment into the early hours of the next day. What was so thrilling was the way the organisers – S2 Music Production – blended the night with gospel, hip-life and the Ghanaian highlife artistes, all in an effort to breed new talents and enhance the artistes chances into the wide range of the music world.

The 5 judges looking out for the future prospects under this Show - labelled, ‘Mentor in Italy’- awarded marks for the artiste’s voice, singing ability, stage performance and appearance. They were flattered by some of the performances and were given time to pass out comments.

Mary Osei (not a contestant), a gospel artiste based in Reggio Emilia, warmed the stage first with a couple of soul-inspiring songs from her albums. She got the audience off their seats to help in praise of God and dancing and as I sat watching her pouring her heart and soul-rousing instinct into her songs I kept wondering why such a performer of her calibre has still not gone beyond the borders of the Ghanaian community in Italy unto a bigger stage. She was phenomenal and the audience welcomed that with a standing ovation before she left the stage. Making an appearance also were Oboy Sika, who glittered the night performing with his two dancers, and Cash Moe, a young exuberant artiste making an impact with his hip-life songs among the Ghanaian youths in Italy.

All 38 contestants made a brief appearance before they came on to show what they have for the night. Some of them sang from their own creations whilst others performed songs of their favourite artistes, remarkably done you may mistake them for the real artistes of those songs. The judges had a tough time deciding but finally came out with the top 20 out of the pack and they all received prizes for their efforts.

The night achieved its main objective of putting the aspiring artistes before an audience for the big time shows and some who have come to tap talents in this field will have something to work with as the event goes into another stage in the coming weeks. Sponsors of the event were Image Info Tech, Nhyira Radio and Radio Shepherd and the driving force behind the organising team were Bretuoba Kwaku Agyemang, Bismark Bawuah and Jessica Koffi - all young Radio Presenters.