By Emmanuel Narokobi

I’d like to give Akay47 a 10 out of 10 for his effort in reaching the climax of his music competition. The One, Grand Final event was held out at PRL and although it was a small crowd I could see everyone beaming with pride as the young talent of the Motu-Koita villages were displayed with pride.

Remember all these participants are young adults from the ages of 18-25 and all have never sung in front of an audience this large before let alone singing outside of their villages for some. So you couldn’t help but smile at the raw talent coming out with smooth musicianship and vocal delights. To top it off all the finalists had to sing 2 original compositions and they clearly blew away any previous conceptions that recording stars are only found in recording studios.

And who better to judge throught the competition and on the day and to guide our up and coming talent than Lister Laka, Vinisi Moses and the ever popular Moses Tau. I think Akay47 has made a bold statement this week, and that is, that the way we identify and promote musical talent has been too restrictive and narrow for far too long.

We look forward to The One Music Competition growing bigger and wider across PNG in the years to come.