Has anyone realised one of the reasons why TV3 Mentor is very popular is because of its live band facet? Live band music was anything but alive in Ghana before TV3 came in with Mentor. I do remember clearly how Stars of the Future started without a live band and it really wasn’t worth my lenses.

The organisers were smart enough to take a cue from TV3 Mentor and took the live band way although the show itself wasn’t live on TV. I really loved it and said to myself ‘finally we’re beginning to see the value of live band music’.

After setting this highly commendable standard as far as music programs on TV are concerned, I expected TV3 to do better when it came to the new phase of Music Music. It’s indeed a brilliant concept of giving the show a competitive touch with an attractive package at stake for the winners. That can’t be enough if you consider the very name of the show ‘Music Music’. What’s music if it’s not performed LIVE?

The show was boring before the introduction of this new phase but it appears not much has changed because the musicians are not being challenged. If it’s about miming through a song, I believe anyone on the street can do it. Give anyone a switched-off microphone and play an Ofori Amponsah or Ohenmaa Mercy CD and they will shock you with their miming skills. It’s about time those in charge of the show eye it up closely before it ebbs away with the wind of mediocrity.

Give us the opportunity of seeing our musicians perform with a live band if they’re really worth their sort. A live performance is supposed give them the opportunity of making their songs sound better than what we hear on CDs and tapes. It’s to make us know they own their songs and can even make them sound better before a live audience.

Just as Stars of the Future followed TV3 Mentor’s live band performance lead, I would want the brains in charge of Music Music to blaze another trail for others to follow. I don’t think it’s just about adding a live band sound to the show for the sake of it but about measuring up to the name ‘Music Music’.