28 February 2022
Nigerian Idol S7: Here are all the exciting highlights this week
As the first round of Nigerian Idol auditions slowly wind down and we look forward to Theatre Week, we are excited to see the contestants vying for a chance to earn last-minute Golden Tickets to the next round.
It’s been vibes on vibes with judges D’banj, Obi Asika, and guest judge Omawonder, who’ve been serving nonstop entertainment while selecting only the cream of the crop.
This week, musician and former Idol judge, Yinka Davies replaced judge Omawumi to join the elite panel of judges ahead of Theatre Week.
Here are some of our favorite highlights from this week’s show.
David aims for gold, misses woefully
For David Egbugara, the motivation that drove him to compete on the Nigerian Idol stage was simple – he believes that he is the best Nigerian singer there has ever been.
The confidence of the 22-year- old from Delta state captured our hearts and we were rooting for him until he said that his family members had never heard him sing. Ha! We didn’t need a soothsayer to tell us that this would end badly for him.
Performing Ceelo Green’s Forget You, David left the judges perplexed and short of words with judge Obi commenting:
“David man, that’s just not working. There is no energy in your performance. It’s not even the energy for me, you don’t have a voice.”
With three Nos and a dashed dream, David taught us all an important lesson: Always sing to the people that love you, your family/friends before coming on Nigerian Idol.
Remii picks up an easy golden ticket
Remii was one of those contestants we instinctively knew could sing, and so did the judges with judge D’banj saying “I have a feeling he can sing.”
Speaking to host, Ik Osakioduwa, the Chemical Engineer turned full-time Musician revealed that he had some experience performing at competition level and, hoped his experience would be an advantage in his Nigerian Idol journey.
The 29-year-old from Ekiti serenaded the judges to Adele’s Make You Feel My Love and they thoroughly enjoyed it.
Armed with three yeses, Remii cruised right into Theatre Week without even breaking a sweat and we hope to see him on the big stage.
Way to go Remii!
Charismatic Isioma bags a golden ticket
The first thing that caught our attention about Isioma Charles was her ‘African Queen’ style. Sporting a skin-cut and rocking an Ankara print dress, Isioma certainly stood out from the crowd.
The 30-year-old full-time singer is determined to spread happiness through music because according to her, life is tough enough as it is.
The ghetto girl with the butty swag as she likes to call herself definitely brought the swag to her performance and the judges absolutely loved it.
Singing Baby Riddim by Fave, Isioma gave the judges quite a show and in no time, all three judges gave her a resounding YES!
We guess it’s safe to say that her confidence, charisma, and swag ultimately earned her the coveted golden ticket.
Grammy award aspirant leaves judges comically disappointed
Osemeke Edike had us all anticipating his performance. With his interesting outfit and yellow durag, he looked the part and we were hoping he would live up to his looks.
The 21-year-old from Delta state aspires to become a Grammy award-winning singer someday and his tactic to win over the judges was to give the performance of a lifetime, one that he could be proud of.
However, no sooner had Osemeke started to sing than it dawned on us that he wouldn’t live up to our expectations.
Performing You And I by Lady Gaga, he left the judges struggling to maintain their composure amidst bouts of laughter. Judge Omawunmi commenting on the abysmal performance said:
“I don’t know where to even start because normally I would have said go and work on this or work on that but I honestly don’t know what to tell you to work on…. Go and learn how to sing properly”
With 3 Nos Osemeke certainly won’t be heading to Theatre Week.
Better luck next time, Osemeke.
Itoro fulfills a lifelong dream, and bags a golden ticket while at it
People audition for Nigerian Idol for a plethora of reasons. For some, it’s for fame and fortune, and for others, it’s a stepping stone to even bigger opportunities but for Itoro Obong-Bill, it was to fulfill her lifelong dream of being on TV.
The unassuming 22-year-old teacher from Akwa Ibom state was just thankful to be on TV finally and nothing could have prepared us for her voice.
She wowed the judges with her rendition of When We Were Young by Adele and she received a well-deserved round of applause from all three judges.
With three yeses and a golden ticket, small Itoro with the mighty voice is heading to Theater Week.
Congratulations girl!
Gold bags a golden ticket
Gold is definitely one of our favorite highlights from the last phase of the first round of auditions.
The 22-year-old from Ibadan had us all stunned by her amazing voice and by the end of her performance, we had goosebumps.
Performing a cover of Micheal Jackson’s I’ll Be There, Gold treated us all to her sonorous voice and delivered a performance that Michael Jackson himself would be proud of.
We were left with no doubts whatsoever that this golden girl is star material.
Describing her voice, judge Omawunmi said “your voice is like honey! It’s sweet.”
Gold certainly lived up to her name and picked up a golden ticket after receiving lots of accolades and 3 emphatic yeses from the judges.
We greet you specially Gold!
Progress progresses to theatre week
You know what they say about saving the best for last? It certainly rang true with Progress Chukuwuyem.
The 20-year-old from Agbor, Delta state is currently pursuing a career in music while he waits to get into a higher institution and his passion was evident in his performance.
Progress blew us away with his exceptional voice. Performing All Of Me by John Legend, Progress killed those notes.
Pure, powerful, and amazing, were just some of the words used by the judges to qualify his voice, and even after he had left, they continued to marvel over his performance.
With 3 well-deserved yeses, Progress clinched the 75th and final golden ticket.
In the words of the Koko Master – D’banj, your face show, your shoe shine Progress.
Catch all episodes of Nigerian Idol season 7 and watch the shows live on Showmax.
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M'tase Khaya, now streaming
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