Theatre Week began with Obi Asika and D’banj informing everyone in Room 1 that they had made it to the next stage. The same was not for those in room two, as they got the brutal truth that they did not make it to the next round. It was mixed emotions for those in room three, where the judges asked some to leave while others stayed. Those who narrowly made it to the next round were asked to step up their performance. In all, 25 people were asked to go home in the first round of eviction during theatre week. 50 of the original 75 that got golden tickets survived the onslaught to move to the second round.
If the auditions were brutal, theatre week proved to be more challenging. For the second round, the contestants were paired and asked to randomly select a song to practise for 24 hours. Here, their ability to perform excellently in a duet was tested. Even from the pairing, some of the contestants were already complaining about their partner and their ability to work together as a duet.
Jitey expressed concern about her ability to blend well with her partner. She admitted that they were both excellent singers individually but concerned about doing well together.
Precious and Chisom were the first ‘couple’. They chose Sinner by Adekunle Gold and Lucky Daye and practised with a voice coach, Malie Kelly.
In front of the judges, Obi Asika, D’banj and Simi, the duo gave a fantastic performance that received commendation. Simi chided Chisom for being nervous and not looking at them. Overall, the judges commended their ability to work together to give a good performance, and both of them went through to the next round.
Chris and Isioma also combined well to move to the next round after they both delivered a superb performance in front of the judges.
Azuka and Kelvin were next, but they did not impress the judges with their performance. They failed to work well as a team, showing how disorganised they sounded. After a string of duets that impressed the judges, the duo was the first to be asked to leave.
La Mood and Collins also struggled to convince the judges of their ability to work together. However, the judges were impressed with Collins, and he got to move to the next round. La Mood, however, who had complained about her partner’s mood affecting her, was asked to leave.
Progress and Debby sang You are the Reason, and despite Debby being under the weather, the judges complimented their chemistry. Both got the pass to the next round.
Remii and Ochiora combined to sing ‘Jealous’ by Labrinth and did an excellent job with it. Both of them played the guitar and blended well with ease earning high praise from the judges. Both got a pass to the next round.
Itohan and Jordan were a perfect match as the judges stood up to applaud the performance after they sang. Simi urged them not to stop singing and said she hoped they would continue to do well. Their duet was one of the best for the night, and they got a pass to the next round.
Eyo and Ikemefuna did not go to the next round as their performance did not impress the judges. According to the judges, they did not perform well as it seemed they just wanted to be done with the performance without enjoying it.
Wisdom and Banti sang Comforter’s Song by Jeremiah Gyang and Asa. According to the judges, only one of them brought all the energy to the stage. Banti moved to the next round, but Wisdom did not meet the judges’ expectations.
Joel and Mathew struggled while practising for their duet, and it seemed like they would not do well on stage. The judges noted that they did not gel well. Despite that, they did enough to convince the judges and moved to the next round.
Abigail and Gerald were the last pair to perform in the first round of theatre week, and they delivered an eye-catching performance that wowed the judges. They closed the curtain with a beautiful duet that earned both of them a pass to the next round.
Follow the seventh season of Nigerian Idol with new episodes every Sunday on AM Showcase (DStv channel 151), AM Urban (DStv channel 153 & GOtv Supa channel 6) and AM Family (DStv channel 154 & GOtv channel 2) from 7pm. You can also catch all the auditions from day one and the behind the scenes episodes on Nigerian Idol extra, airing daily on (DStv channel 197 and GOtv channel 29).
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