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Following duet performances that led to the elimination of 15 contestants, 35 singers made it to the final round of Nigerian Idol, where the competition grew hotter.
During this week’s show, contestants participated in the solo round, where they were given 24 hours to master specific songs.
Collins was the first singer to walk to the stage to sing. In the duet stage, he had survived while his partner was kicked out. During the solo singing competition, however, he froze on stage. Despite the judges – Simi, D’banj and Obi Asika – urging him to sing the chorus, he could not continue and walked off the stage in tears.
Gerald was the next singer. With a high-flying duet round performance, his morale was high for the solo round. He sang Let me Love you by Mario. The judges, however, were not impressed with his performance. Simi said she was disappointed as he had raised his bar in the past, and the solo round was his worst performance. Despite that, he moved to the top ten.
Abigail, Gerald’s duet partner, took to the stage to sing A Couple of Forevers. While she was singing, the judges could not hide their smiles and expressed satisfaction with her performance. Obi Asika noted that she has raised the bar and sent her to the top ten.
Chisom and Mathew did not bring their A-game to the solo round and did not make it to the top ten.
Jordan, the basketball-playing guitarist, sang Best Part by Daniel Ceasar breezed through his performance. Obi Asika congratulated him, and he moved to the top ten.
Itohan was next. After a solid duet performance with Jordan, the youngest contestant made it to the top ten and is fast becoming a fan favourite.
Banty, who sang Blinding Lights by The Weekend, continued to deliver a good performance and got a commendation from the judges. She also moved to the next round.
David Operah sang Pillow Talk by Zayn. His performance was described as below par, although his stage performance was applauded, and he moved to the top ten.
Jitey took to the stage to sing Sweet Dreams by Beyonce in a manner that did not really impress the judges. Despite her previous performances, the solo round did not raise her game, and she did not make it to the next round.
Ochiora, the country singer, gave his own rendition of Fast Car by Tracy Chapman. The judges commended his journey so far, but the competitiveness of the show meant he did not cut it into the top ten.
Zadok Sang If by Davido, and his performance was impressive enough to move to the top ten. The judges said he owned the performance and the song confidently.
Chukwuka sang No Strings Attached by Mayourkun. A year ago, he left the show at this same stage. He did not do enough to make it to the top ten this season.
David gave his own rendition of The Lazy Song by Bruno Mars in what he described as a below-par performance. He did not proceed beyond that level.
Faith climbed to the stage to sing Forgive Me by Chloe X Halle and killed the performance making it to the top ten.
Debby sang Midnight Sun by Miley Cyrus while struggling with a cold. She made it to the top ten. Simi urged her to continue fighting and applauded her for giving her best.
Her duet partner, Progress, also moved to the top ten with his performance. The judges said he sang a song outside of his comfort zone and did very well.
This brought the number of those moving to the next stage to ten. However, there was still more to come.
Joel sang Dancing on my Own by Callum Scott while Precious forgot some of her lines during her own performance.
In an incredible twist, Joel and Precious joined those who made it to the top ten, and for the first time, the top list was expanded to the top 12.
Voting will begin next Sunday as the top 12 will have to fight for votes from Nigerians. It is yet to be seen how the battle will play out.
Follow the seventh season of Nigerian Idol with new episodes every Sunday on AM Showcase (DStv channel 151), AM Urban (DStv channel 153 & GOtv Supa channel 6) and AM Family (DStv channel 154 & GOtv channel 2) from 7pm.
Source: TheNet
