Chidinma is a 19 year old student of the University of Port Harcourt in Rivers State of Nigeria. She is the second child but first girl in a family of seven people, two dogs – Bully and Hitler, and Sarafina, her adorable cat.

CHIDINMA is of eastern Nigerian Descent, and the fifth out of six siblings. She grew up under strict Christian parents and became very involved in the church choir from a very tender age of ten. She attended primary and secondary schools in Ketu Lagos before the family relocated to Ikorodu. In 2009, she discovered MTN Project Fame West Africa music reality TV show on television and followed the maiden edition keenly from the television in her living room, wishing to be part of the huge show someday. Her dreams began to take shape when a close friend of hers encouraged her to go for the Lagos auditions of the third edition of Project Fame. She caught a bus from Ikorodu to ULTIMA Studios, the audition venue and joined the long queue of over 8,000 contestants, with only four hundred naira in her pocket. All she had was Belief.. Chidinma was short listed amongst the last eighteen contestants to go into the Fame academy. For the next ten weeks, she lived under strict tutelage from the Faculty comprising voice coaches, choreography, inspirational visits and sessions with established musicians and music business service providers, tough rehearsal drills etc

The contestants were referred to as junior colleagues in the entertainment industry by the Principal…of course, they blushed. She was so proud of them all for fantastic performances on Sunday.

Chemistry in the Air Mummy J came in for her class to find out that Christian was down with back ache, as a mother she encouraged him and assisted him out of bed, his tears really portrayed he was in pains, but he eventually made it to the class.

Academy Day 59.........Preparation for Stardom The budding stars complimented the Principal for her good looks. They relieved their experience at the Hip Hop World Office. From the questions they were asked, Kesse revealed that the song written for Chidinma was from his creativity. She was the dot on the letter ‘I’ since she is the buzz of the competition. Smart one dude! Well for itching ears, the relationship between Chidinma and Kesse is strictly professional…hmmmmmmmmm! Their songs were looked at; Chidinma is on point. For Ochuko if he gets the emotional state of his song, he would pull a great performance. Eyo needs to perform his song; but to who? Ochuko suggested a young girl…would this be workable? Well… The floor has become the best friend for the contestants in Uncle Ben’s class. If they would ever sit on chairs, it must be earned. There was a switch with Kesse and Eyo. Kesse’s collabo is now with Timaya, and Eyo with Eldee. The music oracle was back with the contestants. They were all commended for amazing performances. Cobhams wrote a song for a group performance. Hopefully the title would be “I’m A Winner”. The verses were split between the contestants. It was a nice time rehearsing together. Who will step into stardom???? What a feeling…

Academy Day 54…Serious business Adebola rehearsed her song with the Music oracle…she is working it better now. She was advised to think that there’s just one more chance to do the song and give it her best shot. During Chidinma‘s rehearsal, her instructor felt they were still coasting along…maybe it’s because this is the actual first rehearsal of her song. Kesse’s rehearsal was smooth. Tolu took a shot during rehearsals…something new was introduced by the music oracle…he liked it. Though this is the basic idea, the song would still be worked on. Ochuko’s song has a little challenge, the key could be changed but in order to avoid sounding nasal he would stick with this key. Cobhams thinks it’s great but could tweak his song a bit for the listening pleasure of his audience. Eyo’s song sounds like a ballad but he wants R n B, hip hop style. The music oracle experimented with the band. A few bounces with the instrumentation would give the song a lift. A lot of embellishment was infused into Yetunde’s song to give it a structure and fine tune it. She needs to project a bit more in her second verse so that she can wow her listening audience. Where is Christian??? Please recover fast…everyone is praying for you… The feeling goes on…

Academy Day 51....Nigeria's Music Oracle in the Academy In Ige’s class, she came with good news for some and bad news for the others. Tolu should have raised the key of his song…he still doesn’t breath while he sings…reason while his vein shows during his performances. Ochuko was breaking his lines…why? Even if that’s a style to adopt as a singer, making it legato would sound a lot better. Yetunde was nervous, didn’t sing, couldn’t manage her breath…her performance was a ‘No No’. For the first time, Eyo’s vibrato was heard, he poured himself into the song, he showed emotions accompanied with good vocals. Kesse held the emotion of his song and followed through from beginning to the end.’ All of you…you can’t afford to loose hope or loose heart now. The competition has begun…so step it up!’ Those were the parting words of their teacher. Uncle Ben came in with Cobhams Asuquo, the music oracle in Nigeria as described by their teacher. He would mentor the contestants for this week. As a songwriter, he revealed to the contestants that Song writing is a very integral part of creating a musical work. Each contestant presented their songs for constructive criticism. Eyo had to liven up his song, Adebola has a great song but needs a little more drama because she’s a bit too relaxed. Is there an underlying to Kesse’s song titled Chidinma? Hmmmmmmmmm… He was advised to retain the chorus but work on the verses and make it more engaging. In spite of the fact that Yetunde’s song is lovely, her diction is in the way and has to work on it. She also needs to paint enough picture with her lyrics. Chidinma has got a fantastic melody, great message, beautiful prose, but the poetic value has to be worked on. Cobhams and the contestants had a swell time….

Academy Day 49…It gets tougher The contestants mimicked Uncle Ben, laughing hilariously and then…he walked in. All were asked to sit on the floor. No more chairs in his class until they prove their talents…no food, no sleep, no luxury of their rooms, everything will be done on the stage…no more excuses….they were graced with five minutes of meal time. Phew!!! ‘Let this be the last time you would let the Judges put you down’, Uncle Ben warned. As far as he was concerned, whatever the Judges said was well deserved by the contestants. ‘It is no longer about the voice but the performance’, their teacher reminded them. This week is own compositions – lyrical contents must be right, healthy and remembered by 90% of the public audience. No kidding!!! Adebola is still deciding which song to sing, Eyo is not ready, Christian’s song is highlife. Chidinma and Yetunde were not spared for laughing at Chritian’s lyrics in Ghanaian (which means forgiveness). They were asked to kneel in front of him and ask for forgiveness…very funny. Chidinma? Title of Kesse’s song? Interesting…he’s got nice tunes though. In addition to personal compositions, the contestants will perform ballads. The right emotions must be put in their songs. There were reminded that the public knows the songs but must be done in their own interpretation. A family talk was held in Kaffy’s class. The chorography for the group songs was rehearsed. Tolu, Adebola, Yetunde looked down trodden…cheer up guys! Better days are ahead… Lights, camera, action!!! It’s up to the contestants to decipher, unlock the code and take the walk. What a feeling!!!

Academy Day 37............After the Fire The ruins of what used to be the venue of Ultima studios (producers of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and Project Fame West Africa) was seen after the horrific fire disaster that occurred on Sunday night. Thankfully, no life was lost and all contestants are hale and hearty. The show must go on… Adora caught up with some of the contestants. Helen was on her way to take her ginger tea in the garden when she discovered the fire. Her lost voice was restored as she screamed “FIRE” and that was how the contestants were saved! Chidinma was engrossed with scoring her songs, her ear piece on and volume loud. Seeing Rhoda fly out of the bed, she followed immediately sensing danger. Kesse was in the music room with Christian when the alarm came. Kesse lost his guitar. Tolu was in the shower, not with the slightest clue what was going on…thank God he was alert. Eyo was scoring his song and ran at the sound of the alarm. He battled with Ochuko to put out the fire. Realizing it was a lost battle and overwhelmed, they aided the evacuation process and ran for their lives. The contestants are all excited that six weeks later they are still on with the feeling. Kesse even told everyone he is fine in his local dialect. For Chidinma, she is glad that she has been able to find her voice, Helen’s worst experience was the loss of her voice. Kesse’s best moment is his rendition of Asa’s song; Eyo’s best moment was the duet with Kesse. It’s challenging for them to learn dance steps, move on stage, thrill the audience and put in something extra, but they are up for it. Tolu and Kesse are ready to step up their game and stay on top. As for the dance routine, it’s not easy but they have learnt to cope and flow. “Ain’t no stopping us, no stopping, no one does it better….Project Fame What A feeling!” Those were lyrics of the 12 contestants as they sang and dance, all excited. The heat was INTENSE, the result IMMENSE …the feeling, fun and fever still continues. …PROJECT FAME…What a feeling!

Academy Day 33..........Big Contenders in the Academy The contestants were given a task to reveal who amongst them is the greatest competitor. The exercise was conducted by Kesse, the house monitor for the week. Adebola was first to share her views. ‘Tolu is a threat to me cause of his stage presence, and Yetunde, because of her energy and ability to thrill the crowd’. Ochuko was next he feels Chidinma is one of his big contenders due to her ability to hit high notes, and kesse because he gets to rehearse other people’s songs for them on the piano and still creates time to learn his own song. Yetunde feels Tolu and Chidinma are her greatest contenders because of their ability to carry the audience along. Christian feels Rhoda has a powerful voice that is highly competitive and Chidinma also has a powerful voice. He also feels Vwede and Kesse have great voices too. Chidinma feels Vwede has a superb voice and Ochuko’s ability to carry himself on stage is a challenge to her and Yetunde’s energy is commendable. She also feels Rhoda has a powerful voice. Kesse feels Tolu is his greatest contender and Chidinma, whose voice reminds him of his first girlfriend. Vwede feels Chidinma is a challenge to him, Yetunde’s style on stage , Rhoda and Adebola’s facial expressions when singing and Tolu’s R&B style of singing amazes him. Helen feels Chidinma, Rhoda, Ochuko, Yetunde, Eyo and Kesse are her greatest contenders. Rhoda feels Chidinma , Vwede and Ochuko because of his ability to carry himself despite being big is indeed a challenge for her. Eyo says everyone is a contender because they are all good singers in their own rights. Tolu was quite expressive as he feels Helen has a rich voice, Christian, a good entertainer, Vwede has a very fantastic voice, Adebola is a mature singer, Yetunde’s comic relief on stage and Eyo’s good looks is also a plus. It was indeed a very revealing session!!!