Transitioning from backstage to the main stage is not something many singers do well, but Emmanuel is effortlessly achieving that.
Emmanuel Elijah, who is popularly known as Eljay, is a 26-year-old singer whose dream is to become the next Nigerian Idol. Emmanuel’s musical journey is not your typical story. For starters, he didn’t have a burning passion for music. Music was just a part of his life. ‘I remember my mum would play traditional music every morning. So it’s something we run to whenever happy, sad, etc. It’s like the glue that brings us together,’ he told Netng.
Emmanuel is the third child in a family of six. He studied Mass Communication at the Nation Open University of Nigeria but had to drop out due to financial reasons. In school, he is Emmanuel, but in music, everyone calls him Eljay. His first brush with singing was Foundation of Truth Church, where the teachers accidentally picked him to sing in the choir. When they realised he could sing, he was trained and later joined the adult choir as the youngest singer.
His first official competition was the 2016 Taste the Feeling Anthem Cover Competition. ‘A friend of mine called me and asked me to come and collect money. I didn’t know what he meant, and when I got there, I saw Coca-Cola everywhere. That was how I got into the competition, and I won,’ he told Netng. That was when he decided to take music professionally. In a singing competition on Instagram, he made it to the first runner-up and caught the attention of Tim Godrey, and became a backup singer. He toured with the gospel artiste and worked with him for several years.
Several artistes have been able to make significant imprints in the music industry after being backup singers. This season’s Nigerian Idol judge, singer Seyi Shay worked as a backup singer for Beyonce during the I Am… World Tour in 2009 to 2010. Award-winning singer Tiwa Savage, at age 16, was a backup singer to English singer George Michael and has worked as backup vocal to several musicians, including Kelly Clarkson, Chaka Khan, Mary J. Blige and more.
Now Emmanuel is leaving the backstage to take centre stage on Nigerian Idol. The live shows begin on Sunday, May 9, on Africa Magic Showcase (DStv ch 151) and Africa Magic Urban (DStv ch 153), and Africa Magic Family (DStv ch 154 & GOtv ch 2) from 7 pm. Nigerian Idol season 6 is sponsored by Bigi Drinks and Tecno Mobile.
For more information, visit www.africamagic.tv/nigerianidol. You can also follow the official Nigerian Idol social media pages for news and updates with the hashtag #NigerianIdol on Twitter @nigerianidol, Instagram @nigerianidol, and Facebook.
