BY LAJA THOMAS

MTN Songstar’s musical app may sound so nominally simple but that simplicity in words hardly mirrors the depth of efficiency. More so, the winning prize of a Porsche Cayman is just a measure of how valuable the musical app is.  Giving an entertainment-driven and aspiring Nigerian youth population the opportunity to express their deepest crave for stardom says it all.

So it was at Oriental Hotel, recently, during the ultimate prize presentation of a Porsche Cayman to Patrick Mathias (a.k.a ‘Password’), the winner of the app musical competition, that the transcending essence of MTN’s innovation was made obvious.

The musical app, precisely Songstar, is a digital mobile innovation which allows interested MTN subscribers to select a karaoke version of any song of choice, sing to it, record and share with friends or the public.

The competition that was introduced to publicise the app gave users the opportunity to upload on MTN youtube channel while sharing with the public in order to generate a number of ‘likes’ or approval. The ultimate prize which went to Patrick Mathias indicates the growing popularity of the digital initiative, something like a purpose attained.

As well, the young man is an example of many talented young Nigerians who have missed out on stardom through applying to participate in a more competitive and, most times physically exhausting, musical reality shows.

Giving those who never made it through the tough demands of those shows another shot at such alluring heights shows, clearly, how relevant the mobile app is – creating a short cut to fame.

Like Nigeria’s first musical reality show, MTN Project Fame, the app musical competition ensures that talented young Nigerians do not just gain exposure but that they are left in capable hands to fast-track their maturity and horn their musical skills while gaining traction in the music industry under a worthy protégé.

This time, instead of Ben Ogbeiwi, popularly called ‘Uncle Ben’ in Project Fame, an ace producer, Don Jazzy was contracted to take the winner of Songstar app musical competition under his acoustic shield.

Don Jazzy is not just a producer; he is a trailblazer, or rather an innovator. Having bust unto the entertainment scene a decade ago, after spending a few years overseas, he arrived with a unique acoustic mastery that has set the pace in the industry ever since.

Asides that, his unusual musical ingenuity has made him produce several Hip Hop artistes, who now look up to him for guidance.
Having Mathias Patrick under his tutelage, for MTN, is a credence for hindsight, vision and purpose – something that puts the telecommunications and ICT giant forward as one who follows through and ensure none of its resources get wasted.

In a nation that boasts a massive youth population, 80% of who are amazingly gifted either in sports or entertainment, to be negligent of their potential is unpardonable.

The popularity of Nigerian music and movies across the continent and beyond is an example. Even in sports, the ease with which Nigeria’s young men and ladies gain prominence abroad is a case study.

Therefore, innovatively engaging the youth via such platform as SongStar app musical competition shows a firm’s thinking depth; its superior determination to empower its community of subscribers and ensure its corporate passion for creating a better world is not vitiated by social challenges and political apathy.

Apart from the app musical innovation, the company firmed up its ICT initiative by travelling across Nigeria’s major cities to give the population a novel privilege of accessing its digital facilities called MTN Education Tour Bus.

What may not have seemed obvious to many observers is the gradual enlightenment of the energetic and productive section of the society on current global movement.

Either in Brazil or Cambodia, China or The States, the fast movement of every aspect of the society to digital means Nigeria must comply. Mobile and internet banking is on the rise; in the media, as well, newspapers and magazines are resurfacing on a better terrain. Social media is a fad among the larger section of the society.

This is a movement, like a change in time that no system of politics or sheer human snobbery can hinder.  It is the path to a better world. MTN has done well to have preconceived this.

Now the hassle to register for musical reality shows has been reduced. MTN Songstar has awakened a sense of greater possibility among Nigerians and that can only lead to better things.