Ifreke Inyang

It was a spectacular evening of great music. However this wasn’t a surprise – it is an unspoken truth that with Omotola, there are no half measures. So from the choice of venue, to the calibre of guests that attended, class shone through. All expectations for Ms Jalade-Ekeinde’s sophomore album were met and, for this writer, they were even exceeded.

A-list celebrities like Stella Damasus, Omawumi Megbele, Sasha P, OC Ukeje, Kevin Lucciano, Zik Zulu Okafor, Patrick Doyle, Tuface Idibia, Munachi Abii and many others  lit up the red carpet. On-air personalities like Dayo Ephraim (Hip TV), S.Dot (Soundcity), Efe (Excite TV), Vixen (STV E-weekly) and Matse (Wazobia FM) were present. Political figures such as Chief Dele Momodu, Chief Florence Ita-Giwa, Pat Utomi and former first lady of Ogun State, Derin Osoba, also graced the occasion.

The event started with cocktails before the guests were ushered into the hall. When everyone was seated, a short video of Omotola’s sojourn through the years was played. The clip featured notable faces like Obi Asika, Adesuwa Oyenokwe and Segun Arinze, who praised the star for her doggedness, drive and hard work. The anchors for the evening, Freeze of Cool FM and Radio Continental’s Fadeke then came on and introduced Omotola for the first performance of the night. She stepped out in a stunning outfit with four back-up singers and performed Stop the War, which featured rapper Mode 9. She then performed Hold Me with the standby live band.

AY Makun took to the stage and thrilled the guests with jokes. Freeze then took on some of the female celebrities in the hall and asked them how long it took them to dress. There was a bit of commotion when Stella Damasus claimed that she was done dressing up in twenty five minutes, but another male guest lent her support saying not all women took ages to dress up. The launch of the album titled Me, Myself and Eyes then took place, with Ali Baba joining the hosts on stage. The guests then treated themselves to a buffet. Clearly that wasn’t enough, as Omotola indulged her guests one more time to a sumptuous final performance for the night.

She came on to the stage with Idols West Africa finalist, Uche Klaus Ume, more popular as Kuume these days. They wowed with a Romeo and Juliet song that had a heavy salsa influence about it. Omotola, who was now dressed in a black and white number, then sang Feel Alright which is already on heavy rotation on radio and TV stations. One remarkable fact is that she performed most of her songs with a live band and back-up singers. It’s no news that there’s been talk in certain quarters about Omotola’s voice and her music career, but going from the strength of the evening’s show, it’s clear that though there might yet be critics, Omosexy has gone a long way in silencing at least half of them!

Oluwapelumi