The Observer (Kampala)
David Lumu
16 July 2008
column
Those of you in attendance at last October's Pearl of Africa Music (PAM) Awards may remember the emotionally-charged speech MC Charles James Senkubuge gave before Sophie Nantongo collected the Best Female Artiste award.
He ran through the country's star divas before instructing the audience to get on their feet for Nantongo, whom he called "the Uganda music queen."
Well, Juliana Kanyomozi - grouped as one of the divas who didn't measure up to Nantongo - didn't take the remark lightly. "I'm not sure whose ego I may have bruised but I dismissed it as cheap," she said. Juliana launched her new album the following weekend.
I seriously doubt anyone else saw Nantongo's coronation as undeserving, but to gauge the best of them all, one has got to analyze the qualities that make a great diva;
The Voice
Iryn Namubiru is on top here. Even though Juliana has a better range and Angela Kalule is the sultriest of them all, Iryn's voice is stronger and she takes control of her range much better. Listen to her I-Jay (with Juliana) songs and you will realize that Iryn's voice stands out more and sounds better too. I find Susan Kerunen more natural than all. Sophie is too flat to deserve positive mention in this category because she relies heavily on the free-flowing melody composition.
Musical knowledge
Unfortunately this is the missing link among them all. Here I mean someone's music proficiency. Have you ever imagined what would have been of Blu3 or Juliana's career without Steve Jean? Or Agatha Kafoko without the media hype? What about the Obsessions performing live without miming? I doubt any of them would have made these pages.
More importantly, apart from Angela Kalule who can ably read staff notation and always sings live, other pretenders can hardly do without studio aids.
It's not any better when it comes to composition. While Tendo Tabel (Titie) pen most of their work in addition to writing for others, the rest rely on the prowess and imagination of star lyricists like Silver Kyagulanyi.
Style
I'm tempted to say none has a style apart from Annet Nandujja. Even when she ventures into secular music with her duet with Bebe Cool, she maintains her folk flair. But if forced to choose in the mainstream, I would have to settle with Sophie Nantongo. I've always thought she was a bit overrated, and didn't deserve the top female gong last year but she has maintained being her true self all through her music career, however one-dimension her grooves are.
And she does have a distinctive, instantly recognizable style of her own.
The rest have producer-driven styles which sometimes don't blend with their character, most notably Juliana's recent zouk duet with Bushoke. In all, most of them court popularity and commercial success at the expense of maintaining a recognizable style.
Consistency
That Mariam Ndagire has been around for nearly 2 decades is remarkable, even though she was better known for her acting career. Musically, Ndagire has been coherent and her songs of the last ten years still enjoy a great deal of airplay. Try playing Taata W'abaana at a party today and you'll get a bagful of insults! It also seems like ages sine Titie won two straight PAM Awards as the Best Female Artiste.
And it's uncertain whether Desire Luzinda will still be a hit by 2009. It is too early to talk about consistency.
Commercial success
To many, this is the number one sieve of a diva's worth though it is exaggerated most of the time. This is also hard to judge given album sales aren't always right. Besides, stars like Mariam are said to be more successful as a businesswoman than as an artiste, which brings me to the performance fees each demands.
An insider recently told me Juliana is paid no less than Shs 4m to perform at major shows while Iryn closely follows her.
However, the mere fact such mega shows happen only rarely, artistes such as Hajat Sophie, who rarely rests and is always on the move upcountry, could be harvesting much more than the Kampala-confined stars.
On the other hand, the rampant piracy in the industry has denied them any meaningful proceeds from album sales, which is why I will not consider that.
Awards
PAM Awards statistics show that Juliana is the most successful female artiste, with six glass baubles, followed by Titie with five, including two with Kads Band. Gospel singer Juliet Mugirya has three gongs. Ironically, Mariam Ndagire has never won a single award.
However, only Halima Namakula, a Kora Award nominee in 2005, and Iryn who also performs and stays in France have attracted the attention of international jurists.
Cyber/International appeal
I am shocked that among the leading female artistes, only Juliana has a fully functional website (julianak.com) even though it has got a monthly average hit of 3 visitors.
I also bumped into ugandavideos.com and was shocked by their list of the most popular female singers based on number of hits received;
Desire Luzinda
Juliana Kanyomozi
Phina Mugerwa
Blu 3
Judith Babirye
Grace Nakimera
Obsessions
Iryn Namubiru
Maureen Nantume
Shanah
So who is the best diva? My stats give Juliana edge over Iryn while Sophia Nantongo is not far behind.
For now, the shapely Desire Luzinda (Muwane, Nkomyewo) belongs in the generation of the 'next hottest thing in showbiz', if the standard she has set for herself is anything to go by.
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