Nigeria Content Online

The Nigerian Idol
finale was recorded last Saturday at the Dream Studio on Bamako Street,
Omole, Lagos. The pre-recording, which was compered by comedian Tee-A,
started with a musical performance by Reeta, a singer largely unknown
to the studio audience. She performed an untitled song that sounded
like a fusion of soul, pop rock and reggae. The CEO of Optima Media
Group, the producers of Nigerian Idol, Rotimi Pedro was then called on
stage to make a speech. He talked briefly about how and why his company
obtained the franchise. “The Idols franchise is a global brand and
Nigeria deserves to be part of it that is why we wanted the Nigerian
Idol and not something for West Africa or Africa,” he said. He also
mentioned that the Nigerian Idol website had up to 7.5 million hits
during the course of the show.

The CEO of
Etisalat, main sponsors of the TV show, Stephen Evans also came up to
speak. He thanked the co-sponsors – Cadbury, Sony and Pepsi – and
mentioned that his company would love to continue sponsoring the Idol
franchise in Nigeria as it is the biggest musical reality show in the
world.

As part of a build
up to the main recorded show, there was a performance by Kele Kele Love
singer, Tiwa Savage, who first dedicated the song ‘Natural Woman’ by
Aretha Franklin to the two finalists, before singing her own hit.

Sponsors Idol

Tee-A then invited
representatives from three of the sponsoring companies, Royal Exchange
Assurance, Cool FM and Etisalat to come and perform in what he termed
the Sponsors Idol. Royal Exchange Assurance was represented by the same
dance group that performed on their TV advert while OAP Joyce was
called up for Cool FM and a staff from Etisalat, Gerald represented his
company.

The dancers
re-enacted the same dance-routines from the advert before giving an
original performance which earned them loud cheers from the audience.
Joyce wowed the audience with an acapella version of ‘Heard it through
the Grapevine’ by Marvin Gaye; which she sang in her beautiful alto.
The loudest ovation, however, went to Gerald who brought the house down
with his rendition of ‘Hello’ by Lionel Richie.

Tee-A then
announced that Sponsors Idol was actually a serious one with a prize
involved. The winner as chosen by the studio audience would go home
with a 42 inch Sony Bravia TV Set. However, the audience was unable to
conclusively decide between Gerald and the dancers from Royal Exchange,
forcing Tee A to declare a tie.

Top 13

The main recording
eventually started with the usual introduction of the hosts Annis
Holloway and Misi Molu followed by the judges Audu Maikori, Jeffrey
Daniels and Yinka Davies. The Top 13 contestants on the Nigerian Idol
were then invited on stage for a rendition of the National Anthem. The
first guest artist for the main recording was Banky W who sang his
popular hit, ‘Strong Thing’.

Clips from the show
which focused on the whackiest of the auditioning contestants, and
bleeps by the hosts and judges playing silly were then shown, to the
amusement of the audience. The contestants apart from the two finalists
Yeka and Naomi then came on stage again to perform Black Eyed Peas’ ‘I
Got a Feeling’.

After their song,
host Annis announced that one of the Top-Thirteen, Ola had won the
Pepsi Idol. The Pepsi Idol was based on online votes on the Nigerian
Idol website. Along with the gifts which the general gift for all
contestants (iPads and boxes of Tom Tom amongst others), Ola would also
get to go on a trip to South Africa with the top three finalists, Yeka,
Naomi and Emma.

The audience also
got to watch a recording of a song written by one of the judges Jeffrey
Daniels in tribute to the victims of the tsunami in Japan. Prior to
coming to Nigeria, the former Shalamar bandmember had made his home in
Japan. The song titled ‘Nigeria cares-Nigeria to Japan’ was performed
by Annis Holloway, the Top 13 finalists and two other contestants, Toun
and Godson.

Christy Essien-Igbokwe

Then came a
performance by former Idols West Africa Winner Timi Dakolo who sang one
of his singles, ‘Heaven Please’. His emotive singing earned him a
standing ovation from the Idol judges and some members of the audience.
The biggest ovation of the night however went to the Lady of Songs,
Christy Essien Igbokwe. She was heralded by the two finalists Yeka and
Naomi singing ‘Seun Rere’, one of Ms. Igbokwe’s many hits from the 80s.
The sudden appearance of Igbokwe on stage caused the audience to scream
in surprise and then stand throughout the rest of the performance.

The last guest
artist for the night was former Project Fame contestant Praiz, singing
his own original song, ‘This is What She Needs’.

Yeka wins

Finally, it was
time for the finalists to perform. Yeka backed by fellow contestants,
Emma, Zoe, Chito, Nina and Aj, sang Whitney Houston’s version of ‘I’ll
Always Love You’. Next, Naomi backed by Alex, George,bibi, Ola, Tonii
and Glory sang, ‘Heal the World’ by Michael Jackson.

Jeffrey Daniels commended the two finalists, saying, “You two ladies
are superstars and nothing less than that. It’s been a great pleasure
having the opportunity to be judge for you and I wish you all the
best.” Audu Maikori declared that the moment was emotional for him,
adding, “It’s fantastic seeing people grow, and you will continue
growing.” Time finally came to announce the winner of the Nigerian Idol
competition, a job which compere Tee-A assigned to Stephen Evans as his
“heart was beating.” Mr Evans without preambles declared: “Yeka is the
winner.” At this point, Yeka knelt on the stage in disbelief. Cries of
“No,” could be heard from the audience as some yelled “Naomi is the
winner.” Despite these slight outbursts, the rest of the event
continued smoothly. Naomi after kneeling down to hug her fellow
finalist walked off the stage, as Yeka got up to her feet to make a
speech. The former Miss Abia thanked the judges, her fans who voted for
her and her vocal coach. She also exhorted the audience to “Follow
their dreams.” To close the show, Yeka sang a song which had been
written and produced by Jesse Jagz specifically for the winner of the
Nigerian Idol. After the song which was barely audible due to the loud
bangs that followed the release of the celebratory confettis and
balloons, Yeka Onka was presented with her cheque for 7.5 million naira
and thus the journey to becoming the first Nigerian Idol came to an
end.