DelaThe best talent on ‘Mentor’ has been kicked out of the contest. You can’t put it any other way. Last Sunday’s eviction of Dela from the contest might have surprised many but it was not exactly unexpected.

You see, in such shows as ‘Mentor’, audiences judge the contestants on more than voice quality. Otherwise, why is Ras Lisa in and Dela out? Better yet, is Erico a better singer than Dela? Surprisingly, Dela was pretty daisy with Mariah Carey’s ‘I still believe’ although the judges were not entirely crazy about it. Rama said she ‘sounded like an alley cat’.

That not withstanding, she was way better than many of contestants and, we insist, she should still be in the contest. But who are we, anyway?

Well, let’s just give you a rundown on how things went on the last show. It started with a group performance by the guys. They sung Westlife’s ‘My love’ very abysmally. They were in complete disharmony. Sure, they were singing the same song on the same dais, but they might well have been on completely different stages in different parts of the city.

It was slightly more dulcet when the ladies came up with ‘Don’t You Wanna Be’ by En Vogue. They went off key during the hook and were not quite sure when the song ended. If you listened to the group song, you’d have realized that Dela was the star that shone brightest even as Ras Lisa and Nadjat did their utmost to make a mess of her best efforts.

However, the gals’ performance was promptly forgotten after Faya’s sung John Legend’s ‘Ordinary People’. Dressed very officially, he did a good rendition of the song. Showing off his dynamics. Mark admired his timing and the effort he’s been putting into the competition.

Then came Dela, who sung Mariah Carey’s ‘I still believe’. Perhaps, Rama’s comment might have given her an indication that she was going to be kicked out. After making a comeback into the house, Erico tried Billy Ocean’s ‘Suddenly’. He’s definitely not cut out for the slow jams.

His way of converting every song into a praise number might be keeping him in the contest. As usual Rama was on him about his diction while Mark thought he was not on the right path.

There are ways to do a Shania Twain rendition and the way Nadjat handled it was most certainly not among the top 500. She turned up onstage not so germane to the song she was delivering — ‘Still the one’. It was a bit of a drag sitting through it especially when the shrill in her voice found a way of escape. She went flat several times during her staging and Dominic mentioned it.

It was guest judge Henry Herbert Malm’s (TV3’s newscaster) opinion that she ‘sounded a bit tired’.

Right after the tiGO commercial break, Paul tried to walk the path of the Isley Brother’s in ‘Between the sheets’. He even had a lady come up and help him do some sultry boogie, which she did quite well. It goes without saying that the band was smashing with the instrumentation.

However, Paul seemed to run with the song and for an Isley song, the soul input was zilch. Needless to say, Mark was not impressed. Neither was Rama. That aside, Dominic figured he ‘sounded smooth and sexy’.

Slow jam is indubitably Paa’s forte. His gentle ways were aptly implemented when he sung Babyface’s ‘Every time I close my eyes’. It was the most commended performance put up that night. Mark saw it as “accuracy in expression”. It was the first performance Rama enjoyed and you know how Dominic does it: a simple handshake.

Yes, eviction-proof Lisa went with stilettos and an all black evening dress to represent herself with Monica’s ‘For you I will’. Is it possible for her to do better? Mark declined to comment on her singing. In one breath, Rama said she looked stunning and in another, she said Lisa looked like “a scared little rabbit”. In as much as Dominic wanted to dedicate the last song to his wife (who was celebrating her birthday), Ras Lisa blew his sentiments right out the window.

His beef was with her bad pronunciation, even though, according to him, she “managed to handle the key change well”.

Sad to say, but one of the best voices has been evicted. But we’ll keep watching, won’t we? Humph.

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