Many people have grown fond of the Stars of the Future (SoF) and perhaps watching the contestants evolve, you can’t help but liken them to some international vocalists.

Let’s take the Hat Man for instance-Daniel is his real name- with the frequent change in hats, he definitely has the country look.

When you see him perform, Garth Brooks comes into mind and hearing him sing also confirms that fact. It’s a shame he went out so early in the game. We were hoping to see a wider variation of his hat collection.

Next we move to frisky Frederica. Look at Dolly Parton, and then pan your screen to Frederica. Perfect match! -Her petite-ness, and the high-pitched voice (minus the boob job). Sure, her voice can get a bit piercing sometimes. Granted. But that’s what makes her unique. Put her through some more voice training and in no time, she will smoothen out all her loose ends. Everything takes a lot of hard work.

Listen carefully to Twum Barima (looking beyond his ‘Kumasiano’ traits) and you might as well be listening to our version of Jonathan Butler. It might sound a bit outrageous, but it definitely is a plausible comparison.

Under different circumstances, he could be on the stage and compared with the same scale as him. If he keeps up his very personable nature, and put some more effort into it, he could get there.

Talk about smooth soft and silky. Justice has the soothing vocals that are very akin to that of Pop Idol-turned-public-icon – Lemar. Still, he is able to switch roles and fit right into every genre of music you throw at him. He’s the most versatile potential artiste yet.

	Sandra Hudson

Sandra Hudson, beyond similar surnames, can be compared, with a little stretch of the imagination to Whitney Houston. She may not have exciting dance moves, but neither does Whitney. Her voice gets shaky every now and then, maybe it’s stage fright, but with some more public appearance, she’ll get there.

Betty is the most improved performer in the competition. At the start of the show, she was the mousy type. But from the first time you hear her sing, she sends a breath of fresh air over you and manages to give you a different twist with her vocal ability.

She reminds the discerning ear of Tina Turner, or Patti LaBelle. She falls in the range of the older generation of Divas.

Noble and Clare are a bit more difficult to place. It’s probably because they don’t have very strong personalities that set them apart from the crowd. As an artiste, you’ll have to be able to bring out the uniqueness of your personality. But if pushed to the wall, we could see Noble in the shoes of Avant.

Maybe it’s the looks. His performance of James Blunt’s Goodbye My Lover still remains one of the best performances of the reality series. Brandy will probably be the best comparison we can find for Clare. The soft reserved kind of performer.

All said and done, with the exception of Sandra who plays the guitar, it’s doubtful if any other contestant plays a musical instrument. That remains another challenge that our local musicians are yet to surmount. But makes a world of a difference both in their singing and their international appeal. Best of luck to each one of them as they close in to the finals.