ONE attribute that has characterised competition in this part of the world is the ability of the loser to accept defeat. Now, the average talented contender can go to sleep, knowing that the SMS voting pattern, employed in most reality shows can fill the absence of the sportsmanship spirit in him. And indeed, this method has upturned results that could have gone the ways of some obviously more talented participants.
I got the inspiration to write about this subject sometime ago, when, Vickiola was kicked out of the Glo Naija Sings competition as the first evictee, and viewers who thought she probably did better than one or two participants did not feel too good about her early exit. Even some judges of the competition who saw the prospect in the lady couldn’t do anything to keep her in the house.
What did she get afterwards? Words of consolation like the common one we usually hear: ‘a competition is a platform for a artistes to showcase what they have got therefore win or lose, the experience and exposure is the most important.’ One begins to wonder how much experience a girl like Vickiola had acquired in just one day of being on stage. Is it not likely that her fate has been finally sealed by that occurrence? Will she not forever blame her fans, friends and family members for not being responsive enough to buy loads of recharge cards and send multiple text messages, just to keep her in competition? Wouldn’t that have at least galvanised her to the next level?
Perhaps if Omawuni had been evicted first in the West African Idols that gave Timi Dakolo the laurels in 2007, her self-confidence could have been dampened, while inferiority complex may have set in, killing the fortitude with which she has excelled today. Omawumi, who is today, being referred in such consolation talk, just because she is making more success out of music than the winner of that edition of West African Idol, had enough time on the platforms. People had the time to judge her based on her low and high moments. Therefore, the result can be said to be largely accurate. And today, she fits properly into the position of the winner of that show, even though she didn’t get the prize money.
A school of thought believes that luck and ability are the two major factors that rule a competition of that nature. Others are of the opinion that, luck seems to be occupying a huge position in the scheme. If the latter is anything to go by, very soon, we may start having contenders going for luck charms while going into such competition.
Well, that’s on the lighter side. But candidly, in a world where fanaticism and favouritism reign supreme, it is dangerous to put the fate of the creative largely in the hands of the voting public. However, because every competition comes with its model, and has got its rules, the format for a show that is sponsored by a telecommunications company for example, cannot be otherwise. Or how else will the company recoup part of its investments, alongside popularising the network? Suffice to say that that, pattern is not being used by telecommunications companies alone, as a reality show like Big Brother Africa has also adopted this method.
Therefore, the popularity of voting system in reality shows is an indication that it has its advantages, one of which may be the fact that there is need for massive participation and consequently, a balance in decision arriving process. This way, the autocracy of the judges is checked while the fans are given a sense of belonging.
Looking at this dilemma, a school of thought is of the opinion that the fear of an unfair result is no longer pointing in the direction of judges of reality contest, but to the unsuspecting voting public. This is because the number of friends and family members you have, and how much money they are willing to spend to make you win a competition, is more important than how talented you are.
Perhaps it won’t be out of place to delay voting by the public until a competition gets to the point where finalists are declared. But should we feel that veto power of the judges would be near absolute, it may be necessary to match the judges’ choice with public votes in equal measures. That way, we can be sure that the decision to pick who stays and who leaves is the prerogative of all.
