This year Optima Media Group is bringing back the Idol franchise now tagged as Nigerian Idol. This edition would be aired on terrestrial TV and on the cable network, HiTV.
According to Adaora Mbelu, the Communication’s Manager of Optima Media Group, the Nigerian Idols aims to find the best singer in the country who can be defined as the ‘National singer’. “A talent with true potential to become a major international artist,” she said.
The ‘Idol’ franchise first started out in Britain as ‘Pop Idol’ and ran for two seasons before it was over-shadowed by a similar show X-Factor. Most of the current ‘Idol’ format is however taken from American Idol, which is the most popular arm of the worldwide franchise.
Opened to contestants between ages 16 to 28, the just concluded preliminary auditions of ‘Nigerian Idol’ held in Abuja, Calabar,
Enugu and Lagos. A total of a hundred individuals were expected to emerge - 25 from each zones.
However, at the end of the day, 13 contestants were selected from Enugu; 14 from Abuja; 13 from Calabar; and 60 from Lagos as the Lagos auditions had the highest turn-out. Young hopefuls queued filling up almost half of the entire length of the Omole road where the auditions took place. Fifty finalists are expected to make it onto the main television show.
Clips from the auditions would be aired as a kind of comic relief to what usually heats up to an emotionally intense competition. Viewers get to have a taste of the good, the bad and the very bad as the not-so-talented vie with the rather talented for a place on the Idol stage.
Idol shows are also known for their judges starting from Simon Cowell, one of the original judges on Pop Idol, later a judge on American Idol and the Producer of X-Factor. His caustic style has made him a star of American Idol even more than the stars that the show originally aimed to produce.
Already Audu Maikori one of the three judges of this year’s Nigerian Idol has been tapped as Cowell. At the Enugu auditions, he was quoted as saying to a contestant, “Are you a Christian? Do you speak in tongues? I think you just did.”
And at the Abuja audition, he threw out this ‘line’, “Are you in Law school [or a] lawyer because your voice is illegal.”
Yinka Davies who is the sole female judge at the Nigerian Idol already has a reputation for being a rather sarcastic judge stemming from a similar role on another reality show.
But with American Idol having set a semi-format for judging-style, she may be more relenting and give Maikori a chance to shine and be hated. Still, it may be too early to assign judging roles. The third Nigerian Idol judge, Jeffrey Daniel was not any ‘sweeter’ than Maikori when he said to a contestant at the Enugu auditions, “In my opinion, you will have to opt for auto-tune because we did not feel the vocal.”
With comments like these and histrionics from hopefuls who did not get selected the auditions process is already topping up to be a must watch.
The show would start airing in November and run until March 2011. It will be hosted by Beat FM’s On-Air-Personality, Misi.
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