A mild drama ensued at the weekend when two of the celebrity judges on the Nigerian Idol Season 5 TV Reality show catnapped on stage during a drab performance by one of the contestants, Iheanacho Nancy who goes by the stage name ‘Nana’.
The two judges, afrobeat maestro, Dede Mabiaku and R‘n’B crooner, Darey ‘Art’ Alade could not face the disappointing performance by the contestant, and to express this, they decided to lay down their heads on the table.
After some insipid showing earlier by some of the contestants who made the first batch of ten from the pool of 30 contestants, the judges had expected Nana to put up a re-assuring performance in keeping with her potentials and past experiences on the show having featured consecutively in the past three editions. But as it turned, the 23 years old Nana who performed the song ‘Bin, Bing, Bang’ by Katy Tiz failed to measure up.
“You sang like you were singing to yourself. You have a lot to offer, not this. Even your auditions were better than this,” Yinka Davies jibes at her.
In a related development, 18 years-old Edo born Aisy (Aisosa Edeh-Nosa), also a contestant on the show, failed to hold back tears on stage after being told by the judges that she had a ‘flat and off’ performance.
Aisy’s group stage performance was a rather uninspiring and disappointing one as she struggled to maintain a balance between the song’s lyrics and her audience.
“You did not own the song,” began Dede. “The character the song needed was not there. The introduction had promises, but on the whole you did not catch the audience,” he concluded.
Speaking shortly after the show, an unperturbed Nana blamed her poor delivery of the song on the difficulty in combining the mastering of the lyrics and delivery on stage, a task she claimed was made more difficult by her lack of previous knowledge of the song.
Meanwhile, eight other contestants also performed in the first batch of the group stage phase. These include Ogunmoyero Modolowamu (Dolu), Iwuchukwu Franca (Franchesca), Oyinkepreye Deborah Toun (Preye), Edema Paradise Weyinmi (Paradise), Okukusie Precious Ajiri (Play P), Ekeoma Victor Chibuzor (Prime), Efuetanu Tobore Ezekiel (Tobore) and Orah Ojochenemi John (Blue C).
From this lot, three contestants with the highest number of votes from the viewing public will automatically qualify for the top 12 round. This process will be repeated when the second and third batches’ contestants take the stage in the coming weeks. A total of nine contestants will emerge through this process while the last three slots will be filled from among unsuccessful ones on the back of the Judges’ wild cards.
The broadcast of the Nigerian Idol season 5 on both terrestrial and satellite stations continues weekend of April 4 and 5 across the country. It promises to offer real time fun and quality entertainment to the millions of viewers and fans of the family-oriented talent-hunt show
Nigerian Idol season 5 shows are aired on Saturdays and Sundays on the following terrestrial and satellite TV Stations: NTA National (3.30–4.30 pm on Saturdays and 4.30-5.30pm on Sundays), STV (both DSTV and Terrestrial, 9-10pm), Superscreen (9pm)and Smash Tv (8pm on CONSAT). Other stations on Startimes are WAP Tv (9pm), AMC (7pm), Rave Tv (7pm), Cool Tv (9pm), WazobiaTv (8.30pm), Real Star Tv (8pm), OoduaTv (7pm) and V. Channels Tv (8pm).
Nigerian Idol is in its fifth season after a successful debut in 2010 won by Yeka Onka. 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 with Universal Music label, South Africa and some high-end devices.