AFTER three weeks of grueling screening, listening to brilliant singers with huge potentials, some not-so-good crooners who have honed their skills in the bathroom, and some outright terrible pseudo-singers, the judges on the Nigeria Idol show have decided on the contestants that get to continue their journey at the theatre week.
For the past three weeks, Omawumi, Ric Hassani, and 9ice joined by Emem, DJ Neptune as guest judges, have been on the painstaking effort of finding Nigeria’s next music superstar.
Now in its 9th season, the music reality show has proven to be more challenging as the best of the best showed up. There are also contestants from previous seasons who have come back hoping to improve their lot this season.
The third day of auditions was a battle for the much-coveted golden ticket as many contestants gave their best to impress the judges. Gracia received a golden ticket after three ‘yes’ from the judges when she sang Jennifer Hudson’s One Night Only. In Omawumi’s words “she ate and left no crumbs.”
After only reaching the top 29 at the 8th edition of the show, 25-year-old Maio makes a second attempt at becoming the next Nigerian Idol. He used his smooth voice to win the heart of the judges with the way he sang beautifully. His rendition of Sam Smith’s Stay With Me earned him a pass to the next stage.
The saying “like father, like son” came to play as Professor Kelvin continued on his path to becoming a bigger star than his musician father. After making it past the auditions in a previous season of the show, he comes back to give winning a second chance. His rendition of Adele’s Rolling in The Deep earned him two ‘yes’, giving him a pass to the next stage. He was however told to be mindful of being nervous while on stage.
Not all the auditions ended in a golden ticket. General Makinde, who believed he had what it took to become the next big thing in Nigeria, was the very first contestant of the episode to blow the judges away. His performance of Jesus You No Joke With Me was not impressive to the judges, particularly 9ice, who did not mince words but told him that he was the one joking with Jesus. It was a ‘No’ from the three judges, hence he walked away empty-handed.
After sharing a heartfelt story of how people attribute her voice to a cat, 23 years old Lil Queen, tried to stand against all odds during the audition, giving her all during the auditions, but the judges were not convinced about her pursuing a music career.
As a platform that recognises the best out of all the talented hopefuls, contestants were allowed to choose and sing their own songs. Most of them predictably chose their most comfortable song either due to voice range, familiarity with the lyrics, the genre of music or because it was their favourite song. Though nothing wrong with that, it’s not always going to be easy which is why theatre week is different.
During theatre week, the singers will be given specific songs to sing. In that period, those who do not impress the judges with their rendition will be dropped. Judging from the end of the third episode, the competition is about to get really hot and contestants have to give it their best shot.