Contestants gear up for tonight’s eviction show

Day 44 ran at full throttle with the contestants waking up early and getting straight back to work on their mash ups under the watchful eyes of Music Director Atemi. Aaron, the band leader and his team were in the house and hard at work perfecting transitions on the songs.The contestants were chirpy, despite the chilly weather. The visit to the United Nations Office in Nairobi was a highlight for everyone. Amos, who used to work at UNEP, met some of his old workmates and he couldn’t have been happier. The tour was an eye opener for Josh and the rest. They got to understand the workings of the UN in Nairobi and see the trees planted by the Security Council members with the centre piece being a tree planted by Kenya’s only Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Wangari Maathai. Another highlight for the contestants was finding out that Principal Eric is a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN. Inside the Academy, Hope continued to perfect his mash up. Atemi and Band leader Aaron advised that Hope listens to the music for his cues to catch the flow. By the end of his session, Hope’s mash up of Sauti Sol’s ‘Coming Home’ and Train’s hit ‘Hey Soul Sister’ was fantastic and ready for performance as early as Wednesday. Patrick did alright with his mash up of Michael Jackson’s ‘Smooth Criminal’ and Maroon 5’s ‘Misery’. However, the power balladeer from Rwanda was struggling with the song transitions.As the contestants worked, they built new songs and perfected their repertoires. You can tell that even the contestants are keen to see how their performances will play out on stage.A special visitor called in to visit in the middle of the day. Rapper Xtatic (signed to Sony Music) was on hand to inspire the contestants. Xtatic (who is nominated for a Channel O Music Award) showed her video that is up for nomination and then spoke about her time in the industry. Hope and Nyambura stepped out of the Academy for a few minutes. They had a live call on radio with Kiss FM radio jockey Shaffie Weru wanted to check in to see how everyone was faring. Shaffie grilled them about their time in the Academy, their relationships and how things were shaping up for performances this weekend. The Burundian and Kenyan were great on radio, you could tell from the cool chemistry they had with the top radio presenter. Looks like they are not just becoming superstar singers, they are also increasingly adept at managing their brands.

Leisure

Contestants gear up for tonight’s eviction show