Kingdom Kroseide has emerged as the winner of the sixth season of Nigerian Idol after battling against the brilliant vocalist and worthy competitor Francis Atella in the final week. The 24-year-old was announced the winner at the season’s grand finale show on Sunday, July 9, 2021.
The 24-year-old singer-songwriter beat 10 other contestants to clinch the prize after a fiercely competitive 10 weeks of live shows and several audition stages. Francis Atella came in second after weeks of entertaining the audience and fans nationwide with his unique voice and powerful stage presence.
Kingdom joins Onyekachi Elizabeth Gilbert, Mercy Chinwo, Moses Obi Adigwe, Evelle and K-Peace in the coveted list of Nigerian Idol winners. Like the previous winners, he’ll no doubt leverage the opportunity the platform the show has offered him to continue moving his career forward.
Kingdom was full of gratitude as he won the title of Nigerian Idol. “My grandma always used to say one day you’ll be very great and you’ll take me in your car when I die. And then she died and I was like, ‘where is the dream?’ I just knew I had to continue doing what I was doing with every passion in me. Thank you for always supporting me. Thank you Aunty for even creating a song out of my birthday. Thank you all the judges, God bless you. Thank you Top 10. Atella, thank you for being a very huge brother. Thank you Emmanuel for being somebody I can run to. Thank you, Beyonce for actually making me smile most times, Thank you, Faith. Thank you, everybody. Thank you Africa, Nigeria, everywhere, thank you. I don’t know what to say”.
Francis also got to say a few words, “I want to say thank you to my mom for introducing me to God. And thank you God for always showing me your face and showing off with me. I want to say thank you to all the amazing people – Team Atella in Benue, Jos, Abuja, all over the nation and beyond who have worked really hard outside to put me on this stage week after week. And also to the production crew for making me look amazing on the camera every Sunday”.
After winning the hearts of Nigerians and dominating in voting polls, Kingdom will take home prizes worth over N50 million. He will get a cash prize of N30 million, a recording contract covering a 6-track EP and fully paid music videos for three of those songs. He will also be taking home a brand new SUV, a variety of Tecno products, a customised Bigi fridge and one year supply of drinks, one weekend get-away for two to Dubai and another all-expense paid trip to Seychelles.
The sixth edition of the Nigerian Idol show will go down in history as the most successful iteration yet. It recorded an unprecedented number of auditions and broke social media engagement records. The success of this edition is particularly remarkable, given the prevailing global COVID-19 pandemic, which led to innovative changes in the audition and production process.
The grand finale, which aired live on Africa Magic, featured live performances by Nigerian superstars Ice Prince Patoranking, Ayra Starr, Chike, and Cobhams Asuquo. A highlight of the night was the duet between Francis Atella and Chike on Roju, and Kingdom and Cobhams Asuquo on One Hit.
The show started with an explosive performance from IK Osakioduwa, the judges – DJ Sose, Seyi Shay, Obi Asika and the top 11. They performed a cover of Jerusalema and put their own spin on it, putting on a show of choreographed dancing.
Francis and Kingdom took on the Idol stage one more time for solo performances of Fela’s Yellow Fever and Gentleman. The most hilarious part of the show was perhaps the Wooden Mic Top 10 that featured all the most vocally challenged singers at the auditions this season. Kingdom then closed the show with his version of Timi Dakolo’s ‘Iyawo Mi’. A special moment dear to our hearts was Patoranking’s short tribute to Sound Sultan.
Nigerian Idol Season 6 is sponsored by Bigi Drinks and Tecno Mobile.
