''Nigerian Idol'' is the local version of the

Idol series ''Idol'' (also known as ''SuperStar'' in some countries) is a reality television singing competition format created by British television producer Simon Fuller and developed by Fremantle. The format began in 2001 with the British television se ...

franchise. It is the second Idol franchise for the country as it was already part of

Idols West Africa ''Idols West Africa'' is the West African version of the Idol series franchise. Based in Nigeria, it is a talent contest to find a recording artiste, and aired on M-Net in 2007. Like the Pan-Arab entry to the series, the show incorporated countri ...

which was also shot and produced in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. The show started with its first season in 2010, the 50th anniversary of the country with the

tagline In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, so ...

''Live Your Dream. Accept No Limitation''. Auditions were open for every Nigerian between 18 and 28. The first season went on air in October 2010 and is shown on 15 different channels all across Africa. On March 27, 2011, 26-year-old Onyekachi Elizabeth Gilbert Onwuka aka "yeka onka" from

Ohafia Ohafia is an Igbo town in the Ohafia local government area (LGA) in Abia State, Nigeria. It is an Igbo speaking region. The ancestral capital of Ohafia town is the centrally located village of Elu. Ohafia Local Government Area, is an administrative ...

was announced the first Nigerian Idol ever over fellow competitor Naomi Ebiama. Onyekachi was awarded the sum of 7.5 Million Naira, a recording contract with Sony, a car and an all-expense-paid trip to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. Prior of receiving a Golden Ticket in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

Yeka unsuccessfully auditioned on two other occasions for the show. For the creation of the winning song the two finalists collaborated with award-winning producer

Jesse Jagz Jesse Garba Abaga (born 10 August 1984), known professionally as Jesse Jagz, is a Nigerian rapper, record producer and songwriter. He signed a record deal with Chocolate City in 2010 and released his debut studio album ''Jag of All Tradez'' that ...

. Yeka has since performed in different world know stages and started the first female band known as the "Gfactor band" in Nigeria. There have been five following Nigerian Idol winners to date:

Mercy Chinwo Mercy Nnenda Chinwo is a Nigerian gospel musician, singer, actress, comedian and songwriter. She started singing at age 8 in her church children's choir, she won the ''Nigerian Idol'' Season 2 in 2012. Life and career Mercy Nnenda Chinwo wa ...

, Moses Obi Adigwe, Evelle, K-Peace and Kingdom Kroseide.

Judges and hosts

Judges

For season one,

Yinka Davies Yinka Davies (born July 16, 1970) is a Nigerian vocalist, dancer, lyricist and judge of reality show, ''Nigerian Idol.'' Yinka has been in the Nigerian entertainment industry for 28 years. Pitch ''Slogan – Time has come to speak up for ourselv ...

Audu Maikori Audu Maikori (born 13 August 1975 in Kaduna) is a Nigerian lawyer, entrepreneur, social activist, public speaker and creative industry expert. He is the co-founder and Executive Vice Chairman of the Chocolate City Group the mother company of le ...

and

Jeffrey Daniel Jeffrey Glen Daniel (born August 24, 1955 ) is an American dancer, singer-songwriter and choreographer, most notable for being a founding member of the R&B vocal group Shalamar. In Nigeria, he is best known as a former ''Idol'' series judge ...

were selected to be the judges. In season two, Maikori was replaced with

Charly Boy Charly Boy, born Charles Chukwuemeka Oputa, 19 June 1950 (also known as CB, His Royal Punkness, and Area Fada), is a Nigerian singer/songwriter, television presenter, actor, publisher, and producer. One of Nigeria's most controversial entertai ...

as a judge. In season three,

Femi Kuti Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti (born 16 June 1962), popularly known as Femi Kuti, is a Nigerian musician born in London and raised in Lagos. He is the eldest son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti and a grandchild of political campaigner, women's r ...

replaced Charly. In season four,

Darey Dare Art Alade (born February 9, 1982)– popularly known as Darey – is a Nigerian multi-platinum Afro R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, philanthropist, humanitarian and entrepreneur. He is also the son of the legendary African Jaz ...

, Nneka, and

Dede Mabiaku DeDe, De De, Dedé or Dédé may refer to: People Nickname or stage name * Dedé (Angolan footballer), born Adérito Waldemar Alves Carvalho * Dedé (footballer, born 1978), Brazilian footballer born Leonardo de Deus Santos * Dedé (footballer, bo ...

were selected as judges. In season five,

replaced Nneka. In season six, Obi Asika,

Seyi Shay Deborah Oluwaseyi Joshua (born Oluwaseyi Joshua; 21 December 1985), professionally known as Seyi Shay (pronounced Shay-yee Shay), is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and actress. She wrote and produced three songs for the soundtrack to Konami's vi ...

and DJ Sose were selected to be the judges with IK Osakioduwa serving as host. In season 7, Simi, D’banj, Yinka Davies and Obi Asoka were selected to be judges.

Season 1

The show was hosted by Misi and Anis Holloway and the panel of judges consists of producer and record label owner

, former

Shalamar Shalamar () is an American R&B and soul music vocal group active since the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. Shalamar's classic line-up on the SOLAR label consisted of Howard Hewett, Jody Watley, and Jeffrey Daniel, together with dancer ...

singer/dancer

, and singer

Elimination chart

Season 2

In 2012, singer

replaced Audu Maikori who left the show to concentrate on other projects. The hosts are

Tiwa Savage Tiwa Savage (born 5 February 1980) is a Nigerian singer-songwriter and performing artist. Born in Isale Eko, she relocated to London at the age of 11 for her secondary education. Five years later, she began her music career doing backup voc ...

and

IllRymz Illrymz (born Olowu Bardia Adebola; 3 December 1985) is a Nigerian television host, radio personality, writer, producer, event MC, artiste and former model. He is married to Omotara Odunusi. He is the creator of the daily Instagram news show ...

. The contestants were Chinedu, Najita, Nikki, Lynda, Ibinabo, Honey, Diwari, A.Y.O, Mercy, Steven Onochie, Anthony Ekpo and Sly 1 (Sylvester Kingston). Mercy Chinwo was the eventual winner.

Season 6

After a five year hiatus, Nigerian Idol was picked up by

Multichoice MultiChoice is a South African company that operates DStv, a major satellite television service in Sub-Saharan Africa and GOtv, a minor service operating in over 9 countries of this area and Showmax service. MultiChoice was formed out of the sub ...

and sponsored by

Tecno Mobile Tecno Mobile is a Chinese mobile phone manufacturer based in Shenzhen, China. It was established in 2006. It is a subsidiary of Transsion Holdings. Tecno has focused its business on the African, Middle East, Southeast Asian, South Asian, Latin ...

and Bigi Drinks and began airing in 2021. Obi Asika,

and DJ Sose were selected as judges for the season. The show was hosted by veteran host IK Osakioduwa. Through a series of auditions, a controversial top 11 was picked by the judges. This deviated from the usual top 10 format that was meant to be used in the selection. This act stirred up a lot of conversation on Nigerian social media space. The Top 11 included Kingdom Kroseide, Clinton, Atela Francis, Akunna, Comfort Alalade, Beyoncé Ajomiwe, Daniel Ikechi, Faith Mac, Faith Jason, Dotun Deloye and Eljay. The contestants finished in the following positions. 1st.Kingdom, 2nd.Francis, 3rd.Akunna, 4th.Comfort, 5th.Faith Jason, 6th.Emmanuel, 7th.Beyonce, 8th.Daniel, 9th.Clinton, 1O&11.Faith Mac & Dotun. Because of the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

pandemic, the live shows didn’t have human audiences and used applause tracks instead. For the top 5, top 4 and top 3 live shows, guest judges were brought in to evaluate the contestants. The guest judges included Mr P,

Praiz Praise Ugbede Adejo (born 8 March 1985), better known by his stage name Praiz, is a Nigerian multi award-winning R&B singer, songwriter, and producer. Praiz's music career hit the limelight after he finished second runner-up at the maiden seas ...

and

Cobhams Asuquo Cobhams Asuquo ( Efik pronunciation: ) (born January 6, 1981) is a Nigerian musician, producer, and songwriter. In 2005, Asuquo was signed on with Sony ATV London as a songwriter. After working as Head of Audio Productions at a local label, Que ...

respectively. In July 2021, Kingdom Kroseide emerged winner in what is said to be the most emotional Nigerian Idol finale ever. Kroseide was declared winner over his fellow Top 2 contestant, Atela Francis. Kroseide was given a prize money of 30 million Naira, A brand new SUV, All expense paid trips to Dubai and Seychelles, a recording contract, a one year supply of Bigi Drinks and much more.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official Site
{{Idol series

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Television series by Fremantle (company) 2010 Nigerian television series debuts Music competitions in Nigeria Non-British television series based on British television series 2010s Nigerian television series Africa Magic original programming