There was another shock eviction from the Mentor house on Sunday night, as Prince Lamptey, the 20-year-old showster who had so far impressed the judges in the competition and even been tipped as a final-three candidate, was voted off the show.

"You are not going to believe the result," Anita Erskine, the show's co-host told the audience. "You are not going to believe it - but remember, you are the ones who vote; and if you don"t vote for your favourite candidate, then don?t be surprised if they get voted off."

The audience was surprised, however; shocked ? and there were tears on stage and in the audience as the energetic star sang his farewell tune, backed by his stunned housemates.

Next week, Prince will have the chance to rejoin his friends ? as the second re-entry show is held.

The story so far

Out of the original 12 contestants who entered the house, the number has now been whittled down to just seven. Anita was the first candidate to be voted off the show, told by the judges in the first knock-out edition of the popular musical talent show that she "danced like a five-year old".

Later on, she got the chance to defy those critics ? for one week only.

After Mike Ashong and Seth Adams, the next two evicted contestants, joined her in the 'out? camp in weeks two and three, the trio were given the chance to re-enter the house.

For one week, the audience were asked to vote not for their favourite contestant still in the show, but rather for their favourite evictee, who would get another chance. Anita won, with 36.2 percent of the vote ? much to her evident joy, and the good will and good luck wishes of Mike and Seth, who say they may begin recording together.

Her re-election came as something of a surprise for The Saturday Statesman, however, who had anticipated a victory for the talented but somewhat shy Mike. And indeed, her victory appealed to signal little long term potential for the aspiring singer, either, as she was voted straight back off the show the following week. The bottom three candidates in the competition had not, it seems, won much of a heart from their audience.

Anita was followed last week by Cee ? Cynthia Appiah-Kubi ? who had been fairly popular throughout the competition, but apparently lacked the star quality to make it into the final seven.

The latest show

This week, the contestants were tasked to sing local gospel sings ? the forte of many of them, with their church-choir backgrounds and gospel trained voices. The result, as with the international gospel of a few weeks previously, was enjoyable, with virtually all the candidates turning out above-average performances, filling the TV3 studios with genuinely soulful and melodic church tunes.

Prince?s performance was certainly one of the best ? as he pranced onto the stage in traditional Ga attire ? short, tight, high-wasted trousers; black beret, red braces, and an almost-cocky, almost-comical bounce ? the audience quickly rose to their feet. The ability of the male mentor stars to excite their audience appears to be greater than that of the women, whose warmer voices and more emotive performances have a softer appeal. Alongside Kofi, Prince has shown himself to be the real entertainer and crowd-capturer of the series. "When it comes to commanding the stage, you take the biscuit," he was told after his performance.

Singing a song originally by Pastor Josh Laryea, the composer himself, who was part of the TV audience, was invited to judge the rendition. "He did very well," he said, although "it?s a warfare song. I expected him to be a bit more serious, the comedy was a bit too much."

The look on Pastor Laryea?s face when Prince was evicted, however, showed how impressed he had been ? no one had expected Prince to be the evictee that night.

Other particular stars on Sunday night included a surprisingly mature performance from Kofi. Often known as something of a clown on the stage, his act was as entertaining as ever, but his voice also seems to be improving. Indeed, after he finished, he was awarded a handshake by the judges, his performance "the hottest so far."

Rose, too ? the 18-year-old youngest contester ? is noticeably maturing, and now ranks as one of the most consistent and confident female performers. Sandy, the self proclaimed ?big mama? of the show, continues to have the strongest voice of all. She was voted in second this week; in top place was the pretty Adez, who has several times been criticised for shouting rather than singing her songs, but remains popular with the audience nonetheless, her sweet temper and warm personality in the house endearing her to viewers.

Joe, who has so far impressed The Saturday Statesman, and who has won a particular audience amongst female Mentor fans, also gave a solid performance. "Do you have rhythm machine inside you?" he was asked by one of the judges.

Looking ahead

As the show begins to enter its final stages, speculation is beginning to mount as to who might take the final crown. As this week proved, however, nothing is guaranteed ? and the fate of the contestants lies mostly in the hands of a fickle audience; who this week chose not to vote for one of the most apparently talented hopefuls.

The question of how fair the competition is has been raised by this newspaper before ? with the audience accounting for 70 percent of voting, and the judges for 30 percent, no figures are released as to exact voting figures. Can the results be fixed? And how accurate a representation is it of the nation?s choice, the nation?s vote, if only subscribers to one mobile service provider (and that not the most popular) are allowed to take part?

The exit of Prince this week has added fuel to all those questions.

Yet as the weaker candidates have been gradually chaffed away, the competition continues to get more interesting ? with the result of weeks of intensive training beginning to show in the contestant?s performances.

Tomorrow night?s vote-back show looks set to be another tough battle ? audience, voters, do your part to make sure the best one wins.