Artistes participating in Primus Guma Guma Superstar, (PGGSS5) will start live show performances tomorrow. With only six weeks remaining to the grand finale, judges and organisers on Thursday held a press conference at Bralirwa offices in Kicukiro to highlight how the live performance stage will be conducted.
Artistesparticipating in Primus Guma Guma Superstar, (PGGSS5) will start live show performances tomorrow. With only six weeks remaining to the grand finale, judges and organisers on Thursday held a press conference at Bralirwa offices in Kicukiro to highlight how the live performance stage will be conducted.
Addressing the press, EAP’s Joseph Mushyomo said that artistes will be performing without a DJ.
"There will instead be a band of eight people; one drummer, two keyboard players, two guitarists and three backup vocalists.” He added that the singers have been practicing for the last two months.
"Earlier this week, we made vocal tests and all of them are ok; no one has a health problem so we don’t expect any hiccups on this forthcoming show,” said Mushyoma.
Whereas previous shows have been taking place on Saturdays, the next show will be on Sunday because July 4 is Liberation Day holiday.
The show will be held in Ngoma District, Eastern Province. Artistes will be allowed to perform two songs for not more than fifteen minutes.
Explaining the criteria to be used, judge Aimable Twahirwa says that it will not be different from what they have been using in the semi live shows, but will mainly focus on stage management, interaction and popularity.
"The artiste will be having two crowds; the usual audience and the band. We will consider how he engages them both,” he explained. He added that audibility will also be highly prioritized.
"Sometimes musicians forget that they’re in a competition. We have to hear every single word of their lyrics, something different from what we’ve been hearing on CDs in previous shows.”
Twahirwa says that this competition is the hardest ever for PGGSS judges because the race is so tight. "But the live shows starting on Sunday will separate them (artistes) and set pace for the winner.”
The Ngoma live show will also mark the first nationwide Tombola promotion. Primus beer consumers that have submitted crowns will stand a chance to win a three-wheeled motorcycle that will help in distribution.
Responding to a question on how judges respond to boos, judge Lion Manzi says that they never award marks because of public cheers. "We have a set of rules to follow… if an artiste thrills the crowd, that’s good but it doesn’t influence our judgment,” he says.
There are six weeks remaining before PGGSS5 comes to an end on August 15.