21 February 2022
Nigerian Idol S7: Check out highlights from this week’s auditions
It’s the third and final week of the first round of Nigerian Idol auditions and so far, it’s been non-stop talent, comedy, and all-round entertainment.
This week, multiple award-winning singer and former West African Idol runner-up, Omowunmi (Omawonder) Megbele, replaced media personality Tolu Oniru on the panel of judges.
Together, judges Omawonder, D’banj and Obi Asika sifted through numerous Nigerian Idol hopefuls and selected only premium talent, all while giving us meme-worthy reactions and good vibes.
As always, the host with the most, Ik Osakioduwa, was on hand to usher in the contestants before the panel of judges.
Here are some of our favorite highlights from this week’s first round of auditions.
Joy sings her redemption song, earns a golden ticket
For Joy Chukwuma aka CCJ, the Nigerian Idol audition was a chance to redeem herself.
The 29-year-old, who had previously auditioned at another music talent show but didn’t succeed, was determined to prove to herself and the whole world that she is indeed a great singer.
Performing the song Aye Ole by Infinity, she impressed the judges not just with her vocal dexterity, but also her unique song choice.
Commending her for her song choice, Judge Obi Asika said, “I enjoyed that. You know one of the things about singing a local song is that there is an immediate connection and I felt that.”
Armed with three yeses and a golden ticket, CCJ is on her way to theatre week.
Guess it’s safe to say that she sang her redemption song.
Contortionist Ken splits judges’ decision two to one to clinch golden ticket
Kenneth the contortionist left us all in awe of his body-bending abilities but like many others, we were not sure how to feel about it.
The judges had the same dilemma, only this time, it was over his voice. Singing Halo by Beyoncé, the 24-year-old from Delta left the judges torn over his performance with Toolz and D’banj voting in favour of him and Obi Asika dissenting.
With a two-to-one vote, Kenneth bagged a rather controversial golden ticket and will be moving on to theatre week.
Goodluck Kenneth!
Tashey On Richie leaves judges underwhelmed with his debut single
Akran Samson, more popularly known by his stage name Tashey On Richie, left the judges pretty unimpressed by his performance.
The 21-year-old from Lagos initially had judge D’banj excited about his catchy stage name but judges Obi and Toolz were not as enthusiastic, and rightly so, because what was that performance?
Singing I Am Free, a song he composed, he left the judges underwhelmed with Toolz commenting, “It wasn’t a great experience for me, I’m sorry. I don’t know, it just felt very flat but for me today, I was not impressed.”
Not surprisingly, he received three nos from the judges and was consequently denied a golden ticket.
Better luck next time, Tashey On Richie.
Millionaire bags golden ticket
We know what you’re thinking and yes, his name really is Millionaire.
Millionaire Eze, the 23-year-old from Imo state, came to the Nigerian Idol audition because of his love for music and his desire to show the world his talent.
Singing Labrinth’s Jealous, Millionaire delivered an excellent performance, which earned him a round of applause from all three judges and a golden ticket.
In the words of the Koko Master, D’banj, we greet you specially Millionaire, and don’t forget to throw the money in the air like he advised.
SuperNova performs below expectations
It’s not every day we see a contestant who plays three instruments on Nigerian Idol and we were all so excited to see a contestant attempt to play the harmonica, accordion, and the American rhythm ring simultaneously.
Jackson Misheal, aka SuperNova, had everyone including the judges anticipating the performance of a lifetime. Interestingly, he opted to sing a mash-up of Nina Simone’s Feeling Good and James Brown’s I Feel Good.
Unfortunately, SuperNova left us all sorely disappointed with his performance. Commenting on his performance, Judge D’banj said, “I don’t feel good at all men, I had such high expectations.”
D’banj further advised SuperNova to master one instrument instead of trying to play all three and we agree with him on this one.
Suffice to say that SuperNova did not live up to our expectations.
Country singer Ochiora bags a golden ticket
One of the best things about Nigerian Idol is the variety of musical talents that come on the show.
This week we saw one of the most unconventional singers at this season’s first round of auditions in the person of Ochiora.
The 27-year-old graduate in petroleum engineering from the University of Benin and full-time country singer in a conversation with Ik revealed that he chose country music to break away from the norm.
Singing Loving You Is Like Coming Home by Don Williams, Ochiora delivered a performance that Don Williams himself would be proud of.
Needless to say, the judges were impressed as all three gave him a round of applause.
While they were no doubt pleased with the performance, the judges expressed concern that he may struggle with singing other genres of music in the competition.
Voting two-to-one with Obi Asika and D’banj voting yes and Omowunmi voting no, country boy Ochiora picked up his golden ticket and is on to theatre week.
Catch all episodes of Nigerian Idol Season 7 and watch the shows live on Showmax.
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