By Hassan Sanusi
The 5th edition of the popular music reality show, Nigerian Idol kicked off in March 2015. As in the past, the show is targeted at discovering budding musical talents across the nation and nurturing them to stardom.
Industry watchers are beginning to wonder what has become the lot of past winners of the competition as none of the winners of the past four editions have made any serious impact on the musical scene in the country.
Thousands of aspiring musicians all over the country go into these shows with the aim of emerging superstars and becoming top notch acts like Timi Dakolo, Omawumi, Iyanya, Chidinma and Praiz, who are all products of various music reality shows.
Sadly, no past winner of Nigerian Idol can be mentioned in the above list as none of them have been able to rise to stardom.
In truth, Nigerian Idol concentrates on discovering youths with talents in music and giving them a platform to take a shot at stardom with the ultimate winner walking home with a princely sum of N7.5 million, a recording deal from Universal Studios and a brand new SUV.
So what went wrong with Nigerian Idol winners?
In the last four years, the TV show has unveiled four acts (Season 1 – Yeka Onka, Season 2 –Mercy, Season 3 – Moses and Season 4 – Evelle) as winners.
Nevertheless, none of them has been able to scratch the surface, let alone become super stars.
Season 1 Winner – Yeka Onka
She’s the pioneer winner of Nigerian Idol, she dropped her debut single – ‘Follow you’ in 2011, followed by ‘Ba mi jo’ in 2012 and ‘Me and you’ in 2013 after signing with Limelite Records. She lent her voice to the #BringBackOurGirls campaign in 2014 by covering Iyke Onka‘s ‘Somewhere In The World’.
Dear Yeka, you can’t win the heart of fans by dropping a single once a year.
Season 2 winner – Mercy
Mercy had issues after winning the second edition of the show when she alleged that she was yet to get proper guidance, record deal or follow ups.
She told Encomium Weekly in 2013: ‘As I speak to you, I’m one-man standing. I am not in any record label, I am alone. I have to say the truth. I am not or was never tied to any record label.’
Considered the most talented among those that have won the relaity TV series, could this truly demoralising deprivation be the reason the Port Harcourt-born singer’s promising career seems to have stalled?
Season 3 winner – Moses
On April 13, 2013, Moses emerged winner of Nigerian Idol Season 3 after months of electrifying performances. Being the first male to win the TV reality show, hopes were really high but those hopes seem to have been dashed.
Moses, popularly called ‘Teddy Bear’, emerged reportedly had a smooth-sailing as he got his dues without any issues unlike what is believed to have happened to his predecessor, Mercy.
He got his N7.5m and a recording contract franchise with Optima Media Group (OMG). In a chat with NET then, Moses said he was more relaxed working with OMG than any other label as they would ‘have time’ for him.
Since the release of his debut single, ‘Number One’ in 2013, and ‘Egwu’ in June 2014, everyone still wonders what has happened to him.
Season 4 winner – Evelle
The newest idol, Zibili Evelyn, better known as Evelle smiled home with N7.5m, a record deal with Universal Music Company, an iPhone, iPad, tablet and a brand new SUV in June 2014
We can argue that she’s still fresh and maybe working on her craft, but time is fast running out and in a few weeks she’ll be one year but nothing has been heard from the talented lady yet also.
On the part of the brand, it is believed Etisalat hasn’t done much in terms of following up with the careers of these acts. Unlike their rival brands, they do not sign them on as brand ambassadors or plug them into their campus shows, campaigns and gigs. And many feel that is a great disincentive to the boost they can get from such outings.
