With only 8 people left, the air was suspenseful at last night’s episode of Nigerian Idol Season 6, Africa’s biggest music talent show.
It appeared that a lot of people voted within the previous week: 6 million votes were counted in the polls, as the fans did their best to keep their favourite contestant in the competition. The stakes were even higher: of the eight, one would see their journey come to an end. For the judges – DJ Sose, Obi Asika and Seyi Shay – all they could do was watch, as the host, IK Osakioduwa, called out the results, exuding a level of charisma reminiscent of his days as the host of Big Brother Africa.
In the days leading up to the live performance, the contestants managed to have some fun, performing a choreographed jingle for a “Munch It” ad.
The theme for the week’s live performances was “Hits From The Year I Was Born”, and for 16-year-old Beyonce, who revealed that her mother was close to tears when she decided to go for the show, the song she chose to perform was Rihanna’s 2005 hit “Unfaithful.” DJ Sose commented on her growth, even though he noted that her breath control needed some work. Seyi Shay was also critical of the song choice.
The voters clearly had a soft spot for Francis, who fondly remembered the year of his birth, 1994, as the year Nelson Mandela became president of South Africa. He went with the difficult choice of Bryan Adams’ 1994 hit single “Please Forgive Me”, and his performance was lauded by Obi Asika for its “stadium effect.”
There was also salvation for Comfort, whose song choice for the week was Christina Aguilera’s 2003 single “Beautiful.” She struggled with her breath control and pitch for the first 30 seconds, but quickly grew into the song. Obi Asika commended her vocals, and Seyi Shay had positive remarks on the “discipline” of her performance.
Fans came through for Faith Jason, who opted to perform Michael Jackson’s 1995 track “You Are Not Alone”, in honour of the late king of pop whom he idolised growing up. The song choice allowed him to play to his vocal strengths, and his cover was well-received by the judges: DJ Sose described him as “the full package”, and Obi Asika described his voice as “a lethal weapon.”
For Kingdom, who was born in 1997, his song choice was Toni Braxton’s Grammy-winning hit “Unbreak My Heart”, partly influenced by his fans’ demands to try out something “more expressive.” Seyi Shay noted that his performance had improved from the previous week, and Obi Asika remarked that he had “finally arrived.”
Akunna, who revealed that her sister was the leader of a band, had the voting public to thank for keeping her in the competition for at least another week. For the live performance, she handed in a rendition of LeAnn Rimes’ “How Do I Live?.” Obi Asika lauded her for the strength of her vocals, and DJ Sose seemed pretty pleased too.
The last contestant to be rescued by the polls was Emmanuel, who struggled to catch his breath as he thanked his fans. For Daniel, an exciting adventure had, sadly, come to an end.
Emmanuel handed in a rendition of Seal’s “Kiss From A Rose”, which appeared on the soundtrack of the 1996 movie Batman. The performance had an ecstatic Seyi Shay rising to her feet, and Obi Asika was generous with his reviews as well.
At this stage of the competition, the power to determine who stays and who leaves is solely in the hands of the viewers. Voting on Nigerian Idol is via the website, mobile site, MyDStv, and MyGOtv apps and via SMS on participating networks – Airtel, MTN and 9mobile. You can vote for your favourite contestant via the Africa Magic website, www.africamagic.tv/nigerianidol, and the Africa Magic mobile site by selecting contestants of your choice and entering your number of votes and clicking VOTE. Voting via these platforms is limited to 100 votes per user. MyDStv App and MyGOtv App votes are free, and votes are allocated based on your subscription packages.
You can also catch up on all the behind-the-scenes action, trivia games involving the contestants, and reactions to eviction announcements by checking out “Countdown to Showtime”, which airs from Monday to Saturday exclusively on Showmax.
