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No matter how much
the producers of the Nigerian Idol may like to downplay comparisons to
Idol West Africa, they are bound to occur and this is something they
will have to live with.

First of all, apart
from the sight of the hopeful contestants who sing their hearts or
voices out and sometimes make a fool of themselves trying to get a
place on the main show, one of the features of the Idol West Africa
auditions that we especially enjoyed was the judges’ comments. Turned
into an art-form by Simon Cowell in American Idol, the sometimes acid
comments from judges help to spice up the show. One of the most
memorable episodes from Idols West Africa remains that one where Dede
lost his cool with a contestant who “dressed” like Fela. Though Dede
was later criticised for what some saw as his unnecessarily harsh
behaviour, the clip still gets a lot of hits on Youtube.

Judging from its
first two episodes centred on the Lagos auditions, there seems to be a
poor chance of us getting regaled by such theatrics from the Nigerian
Idol judges. Although some contestants were rather begging for it, the
judges nonetheless acted all “gentlemanly” and let them off lightly.
Even Yinka Davies, known for her sarcastic wit, was pulling her
punches. The best we got was when she told a lady who sang a song with
“seriously” in its key lyrics that she needed, “serious spanking”.

Granted that some
of Dede’s comments were over the top and earned him some well deserved
ire but hey, this is entertainment and the judges are part of the show;
let them do their jobs and entertain us!

To make up for the
lack of entertainment from the judges, we were bombarded with
performances from almost “all” the contestants. Okay, I exaggerate.

There were times
when you were certain that a contestant was going to make it only for
the judges to dash both yours and the person’s hopes. And other times,
you would go, “this dude doesn’t cut it for sure” only to have the dude
get not one but three yeses. The disparity in judges’ and viewers’
choice has always been a cause for debate for almost every competition
known to man. But here, the Idol judges have been quick to give us an
insight into what they were looking for. A Nigerian Idol has to have
the total package: not just a good voice but a presence that includes
dress sense, ability to display the emotion in the song and carry your
audience along. Or as simply put by Audu Maikori, the “IT factor” that
would translate into record sales.

How the judges are
expected to find all these in one person while still entertaining the
audience is really up to them and the show producers but we do demand
to be entertained.