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I soo thought the second episode of Project Fame was better than the first. Everyone looked as if they knew what was going on, the presenters were relaxed, the show flowed more smoothly, the instruments could be heard and the contestants were much better looking.

The two people we had to choose from this past week were Sian and Johan and neither of the two are star material. You know ... I know the nice thing to do is not to notice a person's outward appearance but when someone's trying out to be a star I think it's a component that has to be factored in, and I just don't see either of them ever looking like a star. I agree that Johan is the better singer of the two, but unless he does something to make himself unique I just don't see him happening.

To summarise the situation thus far: By the end of this second heat Johan is in The Academy, joining Tracey-Lee, Claudia and Tebogo from last week and this week Jonathan, Robyn, Steve and Monica were selected. Why were there four chosen this week? I obviously missed something.

Of the four chosen, Jonathan impressed me most. I admire people who can be so totally relaxed. He didn't flinch with the technical error, he was nervous for the final announcement - but in a relaxed way - and generally goofed around when the teachers said he was selected. I'm not quite sure what to make of his moves and facial expressions though - they could either be quirky or embarrassing. Time will tell, I suppose. The thing I like most about this Jonathan is that he's got a spirit that's very alive.

Also selected for The Academy was Robyn. I found her too high school. She's pretty, sings nicely and plays the keyboard, but I got the impression that that was it. I didn't get the sense that she'd be diverse in terms of how far should could take herself in different directions, and I thought Monica was of a superior class. When Monica wasn't selected into The Academy with the first group of three I was preparing to be very irritated, and I can't work out if her being chosen fourth means she was in 'fourth position'.

When she first started singing I thought she may be a put-on and that she'd cultivated her voice the way it was, but as she sang on I realised it was actually her and thought it all very interesting. More interesting than Steve - the other contestant to make up the selected four. Humpf ... you know ... people are gonna be conned by him. They're gonna buy into the package of him without realising he doesn't have deep warmth the way Robbie Williams does, because I assume this is the sort of thing he's going for.

I would much rather have seen Tumi guaranteed The Academy position. Tumi was quite beautiful I thought and I would have preferred to have seen Steve battle it out against Rowan instead.

Speaking of battling it out ... I had such a chuckle when the show started because Sian and Johan were asked how their week had been, and this is what they answered:

Johan: I was alone in the hotel for the whole week.
Sian: You cannot believe the stress we've been going through.

Heh-heh. What does this mean? Were they treated differently? Is one of these true and another not? Do they somehow link up? What will Tumi and Rowan get up to this week?

Of course Tumi should be selected. I found Rowan very theatrical and didn't believe that he really believed he could light someone's fire. I didn't feel he knew what this meant.

I felt the same thing with Toni and her Avril Lavigne. Avril Lavigne is a dichotomy for me because her rock chick attitude is plastered on - yet, there are times when her songs are appealing. Toni sang "I'm With You" very nicely but didn't seem to really connect with what she was saying. There has to be just a little anger there and Toni either doesn't have any or doesn't know it's there yet.

Joining Toni in being eliminated from the show was Tim, who despite his good looks (a young Keanu Reeves-ish) didn't have what it takes singing-wise. I think he sang out of tune.

So overall I agreed with the decisions but thought Tumi should have been in Steve's place, and if Monica was in fourth position I don't think this was right. At least she's in though. Tumi for The Academy next week!

What do you think?

Show: Project Fame
Channel: Mnet
Day: Sunday
Time: 18h00

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