e the Tusker Project Fame's fifth season ends, on 29 July 2012.
The five contestants on probation that evening had to fight for the three slots to make it into the top ten in order to get this chance of a life time. Judge Ian Mbugua advised the contestants who made it to the top ten to prove they deserve the unique chance to see their music recorded by a top music label. His sentiments were echoed by Judge Julianna Kanyomozi who implored the lucky contestants to make the best of the opportunity. Eunice Guttu, Allan Roy Sekiranda and Nancy Chan were the lucky contestants to be saved from eviction while Tanzanian Damian Mihayo and Fatuma Muhonza from Rwanda, did not make it and had to leave the TPF academy. They also lost the chance to be featured in the upcoming album.
Twenty-eight year old Fatuma said she would not about to give up. "I will be going straight to the studio from the academy. I am disappointed because I performed much better tonight."
Damian on the other hand explained his dismissal from the academy, "I come from Dar es Salaam where it is very hot. It is much cooler in Nairobi and I had to warm up more than any other contestant in the academy. This affected my voice." The remaining contestants continued to battle for survival in the academy on Sunday. The announcement by UMG International seemed to have given them impetus to work harder as most of the performances were much better than seen in previous weeks. Ugandan musician, Jackie Chandiru of the "Gold digger" fame performed to an already charged audience that had been thoroughly entertained by the top 10 contestants who sang their hearts out to stay out of the nomination list. Kenyan favourite Ruth Matete brought the house down with her rendition of the Mariah Carey track "Anytime you need a friend". Principal Hellen Mtawali praised her command for the stage. Nancy Chan, who had a bad performance last week had a much better performance and managed to keep off the nomination list. Jackson, who had a hard time getting the dance moves during the week, performed Pepe Kale's "Moyibi" to great applause from the audience.But that did not save him from probation. By the end of the night he was one of five contestants on probation. The others are Allan Roy Sekiranda who is in the hot seat for the third week in a row, Jackson Kalimba from Rwanda and, Kenyans Steve Homes, Doreen Nyawira and Eunice Guttu. The fifth edition of Tusker Project Fame now features a narrowed down list of ten contestants from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Southern Sudan and Burundi battling it out for the top prize – a KSh5 million cash prize and a recording deal worth KSh10 million with Universal Music Group, one of the world's leading music production and merchandising companies.
