Day Six: Welcome to Boot Camp!
The sixth episode of Nigerian Idol saw hopefuls converge at the Dream Studios in Lagos. This is the real deal as it was time to go hard or go home. I dare say that if the regional auditions created local champions, it was time for the contestants to prove that they could be international superstars.
With boarding arrangements sorted out, the hopefuls attended to the business of the day….Singing! First up for our hopefuls was meeting David Ige the Vocal Coach. After a session with David, Dream Studio day one began. Host Ill Rhymz explained how this phase of the competition would pan out. Nicknamed sudden death, contestants would face the judges in batches of ten. They’ll perform and be graded individually.
Just like the regional auditions, contestants will get to know their fate as soon as their performances ended. The first batch of ten walked on stage and one after the other sang for the judges. Four out of ten hopefuls made it to the next phase of the competition. And that set the tone for the rest of the day. Batch two saw guitar player; Houston Grey make it through. For every yes there were several no’s. A puzzling moment during the show was when a contestant received a no even after she had been told by the judges that “It sounded like she had a bird in her throat singing”. It dawned on me that an okay performance would be insufficient and to make it past sudden death, contestants needed to sing like superstars.
If it was a roller coaster ride for me and all I was doing was watching, I could only imagine how hard it was for the contestants. For several of them this was the biggest break in their lives so far. Making it to the dream studios made the dream of stardom that much realer. And leaving at this point when one could almost taste it must be a tad bit more painful. As the show went on I sighted some of my favourites from the regionals and boy did I pray for smooth passage for all of them. It was a relief to see light skinned Michael from Enugu, Honey from Abuja and Tega from Port Harcourt make it through. Physically challenged Sylva also made it past sudden death. A bright spot on today’s proceedings was a group of ten that produced eight hopefuls.
There is a saying that goes “always put your best foot forward”, contestant 2168, John Ezeuko must not have heard it. For his regional auditions he sang a song in fluent Spanish and had the Judges gushing. At the dream studios he chose to sing in English. His journey ended at sudden death. This episode was one for the judges and they were in fine form. Yinka Davies kept us entertained with her quirky comments on the performances. Most notable were; “you’ve got a quiver in your liver” and “I like your throat, it knows how to communicate”. Charly Boy decided to inject some excitement into the selection process as he had a batch of successful contestants “strike a pose” before he told them their fates.
As the day wore on and the No’s were handed out like candy on Halloween night, the contenders were separated from the pretenders. From over a hundred, sudden death left us with about sixty hopefuls. Exhausted partly from all the hard work they had put in mastering their songs and the highly strung state the contestants were in as they waited for their numbers to be called out, relief was the more prevalent emotion at the end of boot camp day one. It was disappointment and heartbreak for those who didn’t make it, but it was nice to see that their spirits weren’t broken. A few promised to be back next year and others said this wasn’t the end of their music journey.
Day one of the Dream Studios week came to an end. But before they could call it a day, they were briefed by the vocal coach who told them what to expect next. Round two of boot camp will involve another set of performances but this time they will compete in groups of three’s and four’s. Judging however remains individual based. It was evident that while they were happy to have made it past round one, the realization that they still had several hurdles to jump before they could compete for the crown of Nigeria Idol was not exactly comforting. All in all it was a very emotional episode and I can only imagine how much harder round two will be for the contestants and I. Everyone will need to bring their A-game.
Season’s greetings by the way and see you in a few as the search for the next Nigerian Idol continues’.
Day seven: Yes or No
Today hopefuls were put through round two of the Dream Studios phase of the competition. Today is “group day”. The contestants were tasked with the responsibility of picking their group members.
While most had no trouble forming groups of three’s or four’s, others got increasingly frustrated as they watched Music Director, Kehinde Dacosta-Lawrence distribute what they felt were the “prime” song choices. The process went thus, form a group, get a song, practise and get some rest. They would face the judges after a goodnight’s sleep…or not.
Truth is, majority of the contestants worked on their routines till the early hours of the morning, well so much for sleep. It goes to show how badly these guys want to be crowned the next Nigerian Idol.
Morning came and it was time for the hopefuls to sing for a spot in round three also known as the Top 40. While some groups simply got on stage and belted their hearts out, others took care of the little details, like their costumes. The more enterprising lot took it to the next level by infusing some semblance of choreography into their routines. Granted it was the basic swaying from left to right or swapping positions, but as they say it is the thought that counts. Today, judgement would not be instantaneous. After every group has performed, the judges take as much time as they need to deliberate and pick their top 40. All the hopefuls are then grouped into three and each group will be sent to a room to await the verdict from the judges. All the residents of a room will then receive a general yes or no. Dramatic much you say…yes, no? Welcome to Nigerian Idol.
Going first could be a blessing or a curse. On the upside you get the chance to set the pace for the day’s proceedings and also the judges haven’t had their ears tainted by several other voices. However on the other hand if you go first and fail to deliver, you can bet the judges will not be forgiving. Up first is Chime’s group of four. He impressed the judges in Enugu, the question is can he replicate that feat with three other strangers in Lagos? We’ll see. The next group to perform had one of my favourites, Honey from Abuja…yes at this point I’m a little biased, but I think Honey’s group did a fantastic job. Several contestants like Menin and Adaora had their confidence meters going through the roof. Others like Ifeoma lacked this crucial ingredient. Here’s a spoiler, I’m sorry but I could not resist, Ifeoma did not make it past group day. I guess it is safe to say that confidence in your own ability is very important.
When asked how her group’s rehearsals went, Sonia Eze said it was terrible and she hoped their performance in front of the judges would be better. Seeing as I already spilled my guts once I might as well even things out. First a clue, Yinka Davies said this in response to their performance “I wanted more juice”. So, any guesses? Fret not, I’ll put you out of your misery, Sonia’s group made it to the “NO” room. Soothsayers do abound in this contest. The next group to perform was aiming for perfection. This group consisted of Japheth, Paul Chris and Israel all of whom picked up gold tickets from the regionals. The ever enigmatic Jeffery Daniels described their performance as “fair” oh my!
Peace who made it to the dream studios last year said her group was going to wow the judges. After their performance I was wowed, however I am but a lowly viewer and my opinions do not count yet, as the judges hold all the power at this stage of the contest. I was somewhat consoled as Charly Boy said their performance left him speechless while Yinka Davies’ big grin spoke volumes. Tega from Port Harcourt with the rock star hairdo hooked up with Nnnena, a fellow gold ticket holder and the beautiful Najite. These ladies planned their performance to the teeth with marching outfits that included stylish scarves. They got a standing ovation from the judges for their effort and Jeffery wove his own scarf in appreciation. You go girls, girl power!
And so it went, group after group performed, sometimes the judges played it cool and other times their joy or displeasure was expressed emphatically. Footballer Kingsley Manyo, a gold ticket holder from the regionals looked like the odd man out in his group and a sense of foreboding overtook me. I was certain the road would end here for him. His group drew the curtains on group day and the contestants were shepherded to the waiting area as the judges began deliberations. Three hours later still unfinished, the judges took a little break. They returned refreshed and energized and after another hour they had picked their Top 40. The Nigerian Idol crew then escorted each hopeful to one of three rooms.
All three judges then went from room to room dispensing a yes or no. Yinka Davies ever the actor had the contestants in room one fearing the worse and then screaming with joy or simply staring blindly in disbelief as she told them this was a Yes room. Jeffery was up next and he shattered several dreams when he told room two that they were residents of a No room. As you can expect it wasn’t the easiest of tasks, he did dispense the bad news with immense grace. Charly Boy got to do the honours with room three. It was good news. They celebrate even more vigorously that room one as contestants rushed to hug the judges. One very happy contestant prostrated at the judges’ feet in appreciation. Footballer Kingsley and light skinned Michael from Enugu were in room two. My favourites Tega and Honey were in room three.
We were introduced to our Top 40. The judges congratulated them and then immediately informed them that they weren’t home and dry as ten more contestants would be going home shortly. Round two wasn’t over yet as only thirty contestants would move on. Someone please give the people at Nigerian Idol an Oscar! Roller coaster ride this is. Once again hopefuls performed individually for the judges and this time judgement was immediate. I prayed my hardest for my favourites from the regionals and some others I had come to love, thanks to their performances so far at the dream studios. Honey and Tega alongside 28 super talented singers made it to the Top 30. Physically challenged Sylva was sent home.
Host Ill Rhymz; brought this very dramatic episode to an end. He was flanked by 30 very excited young men and women as he announced that next week we, yes we the viewers would finally get a chance to play judge, as the voting lines will be thrown open. Dear friends when the next instalment of Nigerian Idol returns, the Top 30 will be split into three groups of 10 to fight for a chance to make it to the weekly live shows and your votes will decide their fates. I can’t wait!!!!
P.S If perchance you’re wondering where co-host Tiwa Savage is in all of this, we are told she’ll resume her duties once the live shows begin.
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