For the past two weeks, the 12 young hopefuls have been living in each others' pockets' thrown into a house together, living, working and training side-by-side, 24/7. In fact, they have been shut off from the 'real world' almost completely, living in the small bubble of their Mentor-house world and having only one another, their trainers and the programme producers for company.

On Monday, the 23rd of October, is a welcome return to reality and to real people ? albeit the exotic Bojo Beach just outside Accra, and the interest of an already-growing body of fans which have made the one-hour trip outside the capital to meet with the contestants. Chatting and joking with their viewers, the housemates are simply happy to get out of the house-and to discover that in the two weeks since they entered it, their faces are already getting recognised.

"In the house, we are allowed no mobile phones, no newspapers or magazines, no television and no radio," explained Vic, the lively 25-year-old chiropractic assistant who is hoping to get her big break from the show.

Little wonder, then, that the 'stars' seem so unaffected ? surprised, even ? by my question about their 'sudden rise' to fame (even if televised musical contests are known for creating only short-lived stars, with only the very best making more than a superficial imprint onto the memories of a notoriously fickle audience).


For them, tucked away in the Mentor house, there has been little evidence of the media storm picking up ferocity around them.

And today, there is certainly no air of celebrity in the group, as they mess around in the sea ("It's my first time," says 23-year-old Korofidua student Dee), play-fight on the beach and fight to get in front of the camera. Indeed, all 11 seem genuinely excited to be interviewed for the Saturday Statesman, some of the boys clearly enjoying the novelty of this legitimate excuse to show-off. As Mike and Kofi offer and deliver me my very own personal performance right there on the beach, I see the beginnings of some Ghana-grown heart-throbs to rival the best of them.

For now, the group dynamic is almost familial, I think ? and it is difficult to imagine that just two weeks ago this group of youngsters from around the country barely knew one another. Now, they seem to be the best of friends ? and it is a pleasure to meet with such a sincere bunch of ambitious-but-likeable Ghanaians, keen to make it in the music world, and to support one another in it. Many of them are tertiary institution students ? the youngest, 18-year-old Rose, has in fact just finished Senior Secondary School. Others are working, some already in the music industry ? but are looking for their Big Break in the form of Mentor success, and also looking to gain simply from the training, contacts and exposure they will get from their time on the show.

The irony is, of course, that of the 12 hopefuls who entered the house, so matey, so supportive today, only one will walk away with the title; and that each of the 'friends' must fight against each other for the support of the public and the votes of their viewers.

So is there much rivalry in the house? I wonder; because the friendship and camaraderie between the contestants certainly seems authentic, despite the title at stake. No, contestant after contestant tells me; the Mentor stars are a group of friends, training, learning and living together. As Prince puts it: "Business is business ? but we are like family."

But it was only the night before that the first contestant, Anita, was evicted from the show, and there were tears onstage as the contestants joined in with her farewell rendition of E T Mensah's All for you. "It's all for you, Anita," crooned Adez as she took the mic from the sobbing Anita, "it's all for you." She was soon joined by her fellow stars in a moving show of support for the first departed.

Perhaps it will get easier every week, perhaps it won't; because the competitive actuality of the whole experience is just beginning to dawn on the contestants, who on Monday still seemed to be reeling from the shock of Anita's departure.

"Anita was a wonderful person ? she was helpful, always laughing and playing; she was just jovial and lovely and we will miss her so much," said Prince ? his sentiments echoed by each one of his co-contestants. "All the girls were crying, and the boys were sad too ? we just didn?t show it on the outside!"

Or perhaps they just wouldn?t admit it to me. "I did cry ? but just a drop!" said Kofi.

Now, however, reality must kick in ? as the initial two-week 'fun' period of no evictions turns into the long 15-week slog which will eventually see the original cast whittled down to one.

"Now we know each other very well, and we're going one by one, that makes it sad," said Sandy. It is this same aspect, of course, which makes the show so addictive for viewers ? and has caused the televised music talent show to take on with such unprecedented success all around the world.

So now the voting has begun in earnest, do the contestants feel more pressurised to act in a certain way in the house? I ask. After all, they are judged not simply on how they perform on the stage every Sunday night but also on their looks, their personalities ? the rapport they manage to build with viewers who tune in to watch them train and even just live. "There is a danger of being a pretender," said Mike, the 23-year-old portrait artist who wow-ed viewers with his dance moves last Sunday, "but I think we are all our real characters, ourselves."

And there is another pressure to dress, to look a certain way: even the judges comment on the stars' outfits ? as they assess the whole package of their potential pop stars, looking for highly polished performances and appearances.

"We are conscious that we could be judged on how we look or what we wear," said Adez ? who named "fashion" as one of her passions, and told me how much she enjoys getting outfits created for her at Woodin for every performance, along with the other stars. "But I wouldn't know how nice something looked on me anyway ? only other people can tell you that."

Luckily for her, Adez is both beautiful and talented ? one of an impressive crop of Ghanaian hopefuls who, whatever the outcome of Mentor II, look set to enjoy a bright future on the Ghana music scene.