Entertainment
D’banj, Simi, Obi Asika Return As Judges For Nigerian Idol Season 8
D’banj, Simi, and Obi Asika will return as judges for season 8 of Nigerian Idol,which will premiere on April 23 ,2023.
MultiChoice Nigeria announced the show and judges’ return at a media launch in the company’s multipurpose Lagos studio. Popular TV personality, IK Osakioduwa, will be returning as the show’s host for a third time alongside Obi Asika, who will also be judging his third season.
Superstar singer/songwriter Simi and multiple-award-winning entertainer D’banj are also back for a second time, ensuring the band stays together.
The leading entertainment company announced the return of the show in January, with the online and physical auditions following shortly after. The eighth season, which was said to have recorded a substantial increase in participant’s entries, premiered on April 23, starting with recordings from the auditions.
Fans expect to be thrilled by hilarious and beautiful performances from upcoming superstars. The auditions and theatre week will air from April 23 till May 21, so fans can follow the journey of the final live-show contestants. The live shows will begin on May 28 and end on July 16, when a new Nigerian Idol will emerge.
Dr Busola Tejumola, Executive Head of Content and West Africa Channels at MultiChoice Nigeria talked about MultiChoice’s reasons for producing an eighth season of the show. She said, “Nigerian Idol has continued to offer talented Nigerian artists the platform to show the continent what they can do and an opportunity to rise to fame through hard work and dedication.
It is a rare chance to gain access to the hands-on mentorship provided by the judges, our vocal coaches, the world-class production team and the choreographers that altogether unveil the intricacies of the industry to these talents and a chance for them to hone the skill in readiness for their contracts.
This year we are thrilled to have our entire panel of judges back – D’Banj, Simi, Obi Asika. They will return to steer the course of affairs. We look forward to a wide array of music and song choices across genres and spectacular performances that together deliver a fantastic show.”
Returning judge Simi spoke about the qualities a Nigerian Idol must possess. She said, “Have a great work ethic and be passionate about your work. Talent is never enough.”
On the other hand, Obi Asika confessed he was looking forward to beginning the journey of choosing a new winner. He said, “If you are going to make it to the top 20, that’s a real fight because there are a lot of people, and many fall off.
Every single year, I’m upset that we left some people behind. It’s always a battle, but it’s also a pleasure. We are blessed with incredible talents. It’s one of the things that make Nigerians special. These amazing talents come through every year, and I can assure you that there are special people this season.”
Nigerian Idol is a platform created to showcase remarkable Nigerian voices to a global audience whilst empowering participants with an opportunity of a lifetime. As usual, the show will bring fans the best entertainment as they watch the individuals with the best talent battle to the top.
Over the years, Nigerian Idol has produced some of the most prominent musicians in Nigeria, such as Timi Dakolo, Mercy Chinwo, Kingdom, Progress, and Omawumi, who made a name for themselves in the local and global music scenes.
The goal is to produce another superstar at the end of this season. When asked during the press conference if there were any future collaboration plans amongst the show’s past winners and participants, Dr Busola Tejumola responded that such a project would be up to the parties involved themselves but that Multichoice would be willing to support them in any way that they can.
Nigerian Afrobeats singer Davido has claimed that he started his life in a one-room apartment in a public compound, known locally as a face-me-I-face-you.
The singer made the claim on a song titled CFMF, off his fifth studio album, 5ive, which was released on Friday.
He claimed that he is now living a flamboyant life due to Jesus’s divine intervention.
“Take a step and walk into my life…
Started all the way from face me I face you
Face me I face you
And now, I am living real large all thanks to Jesu
All thanks to Jesu oh,” he sings.
His claim has been met with a groundswell of doubts, especially on social media, as the singer is known to be the son of billionaire businessman Deji Adeleke.
This is not the first time Davido has attempted to paint a grass-to-grace story in his music.
On his debut 2011 single, Back When, Davido claimed many ladies rejected his advances when he had no money but began chasing him after he achieved fame and success.
The song didn’t achieve much commercial success, partly due to the doubts that greeted his claims of humble beginnings, as he was known to be from a wealthy background.
Davido finally gained widespread prominence after the release of his 2012 breakthrough single, Dami Duro, where he embraced his wealthy background and boasted that he was unstoppable as the son of a rich man.
Nigeria’s popular stand-up comedian, Oluwaseyitan Lawrence Aletile, aka Seyi Law, has vowed never to support the presidential ambition of former Labour Party, LP, candidate, Peter Obi.
Seyi Law said he would never support Obi’s presidential ambition due to his failure to call the Obidient movement to order.
In an interview on the Teju Babyface podcast, Seyi Law recalled how Obidients attacked his wife and children because he supported President Bola Tinubu.
He lamented that Obi has refused to admit that Obidients attacked those who did not support him.
According to Seyi Law: “I don’t feel down at all because when you talk too much, I swear for you. One of the good things that God has done for me is that my anger doesn’t last long.
“Personal anger for me doesn’t last long. The only place it lasts long is when you leave me and attack my children, mother, and wife.
“The moment you cross that boundary from me to my children, mother, and wife — there is no forgiveness.
“That is why there is nothing on earth that Peter Obi can do that will make me support him. They (Obidients) attacked my children and my wife.
“As long as Peter Obi will not call them to order and he keeps denying that they are doing that, he will never get my support.
“Let Peter Obi wear the garment of Jesus Christ today — he will never get my support. Hate or love me, my personal way of life is between me and God.
“Any organization that does not support free thinking is a cult.”
Davido, the award-winning Nigerian singer, has released his much-anticipated album ‘5ive’.
The 17-track project, initially slated for release on March 14, finally hit streaming platforms in the early hours of Friday.
In the body of work, Davido features Jamaican singers 450 and Shensea, South African artiste Musa Keys, American musicians Chris Brown and Becky G, and French singers Tayc and Dadju.
Victony, Odumodublvck, Chike and Omah Lay are the Nigerian singers enlisted in the project.
The album’s songs include ‘5ive’, ‘Anything’, Be There Still’, ‘CFMF’, ’10 Kilo’, ‘Offa Me’, ‘Don’t Know’ and ‘R&B’, ‘Awuke’.
Others are ‘Holy Water’, ‘Nuttin Dey’, ‘Titanium’, ‘Lately’, ‘Tek’, ‘Funds’, ‘Lover Boy’s and ‘With You’.
Davido had earlier put out ‘Be There Still,’ ‘Awuke‘ featuring YG Marley, and ‘Funds‘, three tracks off the album.
‘5ive’ is the singer’s fifth studio album.
In December, Davido revealed that the album is “my story, my truth and my growth”.
“My people. The journey continues in 2025 with my new album ‘5IVE’. This is straight from the heart — my story, my truth and my growth,” he said.
On April 5, he also kicked off a five-city tour has Europe and North America in anticipation of ‘5ive’.
Born David Adeleke, Davido rose to fame in 2012 after releasing ‘Dami Duro,’ the second single from his debut album ‘Omo Baba Olowo’.
Since his debut album, he has delivered three other projects including ‘A Good Time’ (2019), ‘A Better Time‘ (2020), and ‘Timeless’ (2023).