Nigerian Idol Season 2: Day Two

Saturday December 10, 2011 kick started the regular TV broadcast schedule for the second season of Nigerian Idol. Last week we watched the start of regional auditions with Abuja as our first port of call. Saturday’s show was a continuation of the Abuja auditions. As explained last week, only one of our season two hosts would be available at this stage. Tiwa Savage’s busy schedule means that we shall have only Ill Rhymz holding down the forth till we get to the dream studios. 

The fair skinned presenter surrounded by a teaming stream of hopefuls welcomed us, once again to Abuja. 

Abuja is no stranger to Nigerian Idol as four ladies from this city made it to the dream studios last year. They were Irene, Immculate, Bibi and Glory, with the latter two going a step further into the contest proper.  The anxiety was palpable and some contestants tried to get rid of their jitters by rehearsing their songs. DJ Zeez was on ground to entertain the hopefuls. Right after this, it was time to get down to the business of the day; the auditions. Contestant No.1369 perhaps attempting to gather pity votes from the sponsors performed his Fuji themed song, all about Etisalat. A job at Etisalat might be in the offing but certainly not a ticket to the dream studios.

It was nice to see that some contestants were taking their botched auditions in their stride. No 1382 after a horrendous attempt was magnanimous in defeat as he cheerfully showed Ill Rhymz his dance moves. Ever heard the saying dress to impress? Well Nos. 1060 and 1415 did just that. They donned suits complete with a tie and bowtie respectively. Pity though their voices were not as impressive. At the other end of the spectrum was No.1022, clad in shorts and flip flops which he termed “casuals”, it was no surprise to see his voice was just as casual as his clothes. Charly Boy was not impressed. 

The judges were somewhat confused when twin brothers showed up to perform as a duo. Now there can be only one Nigerian Idol so this created a challenge. They however decided to let them audition and decide thereafter. The twin boys with tag No.1044 said their mission was to encourage their fans to achieve. Then it began! Two minutes of slapstick, fall off your chair comedy. Their song had lines like “sister pray for destiny, brother pray for destiny”. When it was over, Judge Jeffery Daniel remarked “Nigerian Idol aint your destiny”. I could not have put it better.

Thankfully it was not a day of zeros as Abuja brought forth a host of talented acts. Students; Nos. 1130, 1143, 1398 and 1183 all got three yeses and moved on to round two. They were joined by caterer; Safiya and entertainer; Ted. With the good finally breaking through, the city of Abuja began to rain gold. Faith Douglas who was unable to go to the dream studios last year on health grounds picked up the first gold ticket. Twenty one year old Paul Chris and twenty six year old Israel followed suit. Another gold ticket went to Sunday, who was also knighted with a sword by Charly Boy. I kid you not.

In a story book end to the Abuja auditions, we were introduced to a contestant named “Honey Oboni Adum”. His friends call him Honey. Twenty seven year old honey walked in with his guitar. Yinka Davies was pleasantly amused as she repeated his name with a smile at the corners of her mouth. With a name like Honey it would be a monumental disaster if his voice was not as sweet. Singing a self composition titled “I dey”, Honey picked up the last gold ticket for the day. It was smiles all around as the judges gushed over “Yinka’s Honey”. 

With that last act, host Ill Rhymz thanked Abuja for their hospitality and announced that the Nigerian Idol train’s next stop would be the city of Port Harcourt. I thoroughly enjoyed Abuja, especially the twins. You can bet I will be watching the Port Harcourt auditions closely, something tells me the laughs will be endless. It’s a wrap for Day two of Nigerian Idol.