Who told you Ghana has no better way of looking for talents? For the past few years, Ghana and for that matter media houses have contributed immensely in Ghana’s bid to unearth the talents of our youth.

There have been TV3s Mentor shows (1 and 2); GTV’s Stars of the Future and Peace FM an Accra based radio station’s The Search. An event that has been a thriller on the air waves since its inception about six weeks ago has been “The Search”. It has helped unearth so many talents. Are you asking me what kind of talents? Well it has sought to breed the Steve Wonders, Celine Dions, Muta Barukas, Nikki Giovanni’s, Anne Spencer’s, Kooforis etc. Are you still confused? Well I am talking of best mimics, poets and singers.

The program which saw so many people at the audition started with thirty two contestants in the three disciplines. They were reduced to only eight to stand in the finals on the 15 of December, 2006. In fact, The Search program was something else. With judges Eddie Faakye, Diana, Fred Amugi, Issa Monnie, Francis Doku and Kwame Appiah in the seat the program as usual started at Ghana Man Time (GMT). Emcees Fiifi Banson and Adwoa Yeboah Agyei were also full of action.

The program pulled so great a crowd that the premises of Peace FM were filled to capacity. The road in front of Peace FM was filled with people of all walks of life. The stronger ones had climbed trees around just to catch a glimpse of what was going on the high platform. Some were sitting on walls, some carrying their children on the shoulders. Others had piled care lorry tyres to stand on. The eight men and women that had been separated from the boys were Sir Black and Naa for poetry, Okalla, Jerry and Koofori for mimicking and Ebenezer, Yvonne and Kena for songs.

The poetry contestants came first. In the first round of the poetry both contestants did magnificently well. Naa came with a real African outfit. She had her hair plaited by African hands with beads around her wrist and ankle; they both had five minutes of action. Christiana Love, King Ayisoba, Borax, Praye, All 4 Real. Agya Koo, Bishop Bob Okalla, Kofi B amongst others were performing artistes. Praye outdoored their Afehyia Pa song.

The singing contestants also had their turn. They each had to do a gospel and a hi-life/ hip life song. When Ebenezer was doing OJ’s Obi Nye Wo Aye, someone who was amongst the audience asked whether he was not just miming. That tells you he had a very sweet voice. Mimics of Okalla and Koofori reduced the tension that had mounted both on the platform and among the audience.

Then came the time for the verdict, All eight contestants were lined up on stage. Shouts of ‘Obi ne yam’ were heard from the audience. Naa and Sir Black were asked to hug themselves. The second prize winner was going home with a hamper, a fully connected One-Touch phone and three million cedis.

The ultimate was a hamper, a fully connected One- Touch phone and five million cedis. The judges had decided that Mr. Black take the ultimate. Koofori took a hamper, a fully connected One-Touch phone and three million cedis. J.J took a hamper, a fully connected One- touch phone and five million cedis. Apraku Okalla took a hamper, a fully connected One- Touch phone and Ten Million Cedis. They are a hot cake now. Why? Those in the film industry had signed a contract with all three to feature them in their movies.

Hampers and fully connected One-Touch phones was obvious for the singers. But what brought about the difference were the three million cedis, five million cedis and the one thousand dollars. In effect, the 4000 judges marks and the 60% SMS messages brought the difference in the three categories. The runners-up were Ebenezer and Kena. Yvonne Pinkrah took the ultimate which included a years recording contract with colour Music Production in the U.K. In an interview with Koofori after the programme he said he entered the competition because he realized he had the flair in acting and he enjoyed doing it.

“It’s my dream to be a star one day” he said. He was full of appreciation for his school, Kwahu Ridge Secondary, Obo. Yvonne who also started as a choir master at Complex Chapel at Dansoman was also grateful to her Alma mateur St. Louis Sec., Kumasi. But she now saw Peace Fm more as a ‘Father’. Next time you hear the gong-gong being beaten, listen well and act accordingly. Never hide your talent because you never know.