Franchise owners of Nigerian Idol, Optima Media Group (OMG) have announced the conclusion of the nationwide auditions for the leading TV music reality show which commenced a month ago in Benin City, Edo State.
This is coming following the successful staging last weekend of the last leg of the auditions at the company’s Dream Studios, Bamako Estate, adjacent Omole Phase 1.
The Nigerian Idol auditions train berthed in five designated Nigerian cities between January 10 and February 9, accompanied by the celebrity judges, the trio of Afrobeat sensation and Delta-born, Dede Mabiaku, renowned vocalist and Singer, Yinka Davies and R’n’B Hit maker, Dare ‘Art’ Alade alongside Show Presenter and AOP, Illsrhymz.
The auditions presented windows of opportunities for first-hand assessment of the thousands of youths with music talents who had thronged the respective venues to compete for places in the next phase of the competition. A total of 100 most outstanding contestants will be pooled from the auditions. After series of group performances to be hosted in Lagos, this number will further be pruned down towards arriving at the last final twelve.
“It was not a surprise to see the hundreds and thousands of immensely talented youngsters that turned up at the centres. We are glad to have created for them a global platform to showcase their music potentials,” stated Ugochi Pedro, Executive Director, OMG.
A remarkable highlight of the auditions was the award of flight ticket by the judges to AmehIgiri, a contestant at the Abuja auditions. The 24 years-old Ediba native, in Cross River State had failed to scale the first screening hurdle at the Port Harcourt auditions a week earlier. Spurred on by some quiet confidence and sheer resilience, she travelled from her residence in Enugu State to the Abuja auditions courtesy of a friend who picked up the bill.
Ame was also the first contestant at the Abuja auditions to be awarded a Golden Ticket by the judges, thus making her one of the top 100 contestants for the top 12 slots. The Golden Ticket is usually awarded to any exceptional talent identified by the judges in a unanimous decision. There were about 30 golden tickets won from the five auditions centres
The auditions were designed as multi-layered screening process beginning with opening registration of participants on the first day followed thereafter by the first round of screening to determine the most outstanding talents from the lot who were then madeto have scheduled performances before the judges in batches.
Nigerian Idol is in its fifth season after a successful debut in 2010 won by YekaOnka. In the following years which saw the emergence of Mercy Chinwo, Moses Adigwe and Zebili Evelyn (Evelle), it has grown in popularity and followership on the basis of the unique platforms it offers to young Nigerians with exceptional music talent. It is the only music TV reality show in Nigeria with a global appeal that currently cuts across 46 countries.
Nigerian Idol focuses on discovering Nigerian youths with talent in music and giving them a unique platform to take shots at stardom. The eventual winner goes home with N7.5 million cash reward, a brand new car, a recording deal worth N7.5 million and some high-end devices.
