In previous seasons of Big Brother Naija, we have seen different housemates with unique talents and personalities come on the show. Some of them have successfully sold their brand and skills with the platform. But perhaps, none of them have been able to do it as well as Laycon from the just concluded BBNaija Lockdown edition.
Laycon, real name, Olamilekan Agbeleshe is a 26-year-old rapper and Philosophy graduate from the University of Lagos. He gained a lot of attention the moment he was introduced on stage at the premiere due to his rugged looks and his choice of outfit.
Many viewers considered him unqualified to be on the show. Questions were raised on social media regarding how he scaled through the auditions to appear on the show.
While all the conversations about his looks were going on, Laycon made things even worse by just staring at the other housemates all through the night. He didn’t even join them to eat. The next day when he spoke, viewers were shocked. People started to regret that they had underrated and misjudged him due to his looks.
The audience soon started to refer to him fondly as the ‘great philosopher,’ ‘Laycon the wise one’ etc. As the show advanced, so did Laycon who quickly gathered fans due to the way he spoke and because of his musical talent.
While in the house, Laycon developed a friendship with Erica which made them the talk of the show. Erica had said that she was mentally attracted to Laycon. They became the bestie goals of the Big Brother Naija show.
But as time passed, Laycon started developing feelings for Erica who didn’t feel the same way about him and told him as much. According to her, she was only mentally attracted to him but physically attracted to another housemate – Kiddwaya.
On the outside, this turned into a social media war between Laycon and Erica’s fans who are called Icons and Elites respectively. This buzz made Laycon’s popularity grow even bigger as many people both on and off social media thought Erica didn’t like him because of his looks.
The tasks in the house were also another factor that contributed to Laycon’s popularity. Laycon caught the attention of more fans during the tasks in the house because his group almost always won. He became the most sought after in the house during the tasks because everyone wanted to be in the same group as him.
In the seventh week of the show, Laycon was up for eviction for the very first time against other housemates like Kiddwaya, Dora, and Prince. That week, Laycon’s fans made noise about how they intended to break the BBNaija polls for him and break the polls they did. By this time, everyone knew the Icons meant business.
With the Laycon and Erica dynamic, we saw Laycon tell some of the housemates that Erica tried to kiss him during one of the parties, which she did because she was drunk. Thankfully Laycon refused as he had realized that she was intoxicated.
When Ebuka brought this up during one of the eviction shows, Erica got upset and claimed that she didn’t remember that happening. Once again, it became the battle of the Icons and the Elites.
This situation and Erica’s reaction to it eventually led to her disqualification. Although Laycon felt terrible about the development, the drama gained him even more fans.
On the 9th week of the show, Laycon was nominated for possible eviction. Again, he shattered the polls, leading other nominated housemates by a whopping 50 percent.
In the same week, Laycon gained 1 million followers on his Instagram page – a milestone that no other housemate had ever attained while in the Big Brother house. He was also the first housemate to be verified on Instagram.
Laycon’s smartness, humility, and calm demeanor when faced with what would ordinarily provoke most people made him a fan favourite. He came on the show hoping to promote his music, and he achieved way more than that. The crowd he has pulled during his media tour this past few days is rockstar level, and we cannot wait to see what he does with all the love and attention that Nigerians are showering him.
