THIRTY-FIVE days after the first edition of Big Brother Titans debuted on Sunday, January 15, the show has continued to create conversations with several viewers and fans injecting their opinions and votes as the show continues.
The show has produced several laughs, triangles, fights, drama, and plenty of twists as well as lessons for the housemates from South Africa and Nigeria and viewers alike.
After the fifth Saturday night party today, the show will continue for another 37 days.
The Housemates and partnerships
Biggie opened up his house to 20 housemates for the first edition of the BBTitans. The 20 housemates were chosen from different backgrounds and sectors of the economy across several states in Nigeria and different provinces in South Africa. 10 of the housemates were males while the last 10 were females. While 5 of the males were Nigerians, the other five were South Africans. In the same vein five females represented South Africans while five males represented Nigeria. In the first week, four more housemates – two Nigerians (male and female) and two South Africans (male and female) were added totaling the number of housemates to 24. The first twist Biggie pulled on the housemates was to pair the housemates. The pairing produced a male and female of different countries together. Biggie also announced that the housemates will be penalised as a pair, win as a pair and evicted as a pair unless he chooses otherwise. After 35 days, six housemates namely Sandra, TheoTraw, Jaypee, Lukay, Mmeli and Jenni O have been evicted from the show.
The power of HoH
The HOH role has been played differently over several seasons of BBNaija and Mzansi. Fans saw another dimension when Kanaga and Blue Aiva took on the HOH role in the third week. While Blue Aiva was calm, Kanaga was on a power trip. Several housemates confided in Biggie during their diary sessions that they didn’t like his leadership style. At the end of his week as HOH, the housemates put up the ‘Kanaiva’ pair for possible eviction and the pair have continued to be up for possible eviction even in the fifth week.
Differences and strategies
Acceptance is the loudest lesson the season teaches us. Nigerians and South Africans are very different. They have distinct styles of music, dancing, dressing, food, ways of life, and many more. Yet, after the countries have been paired, they create something beautiful. As different as the Nigerians are from the South Africans on BBTitans, accepting and embracing their differences have made this one of the most exciting seasons. As always, housemates love to come on the show and claim they have no strategy. However, BBTitans is a game. Those that would go farthest, in and out of the house, are those with defined plans. Kanaga’s entrance into the show was the loudest, and everyone instantly had his name on their lips. Still, he’s different from his entrance now that he’s in the house. He is calm, put together, and talented. Fans can’t decide if his relationship with Tsatsi is a game or the truth. For this, he’s been on the top 5 most talked about housemates list at least ten times since the show began. Even though the housemates are now in pairs, certain people have a leg up on others. During nominations, it would be difficult for Yemi to put up either Khosi or Blue Aiva unless that’s the only option he has. It is the same with Yvonne and Juicy J or Tsatsi and Kanaga. Away from the romantic mixes, there are also friendship partnerships, like the one that made Blaqleng save the Royals from possible eviction and then had the Royals return the favour.
Talents galore
Nigerian housemate Ebubu had tongues wagging when he walked on stage on the BBTitans launch day, as he is the first albino on reality show. It was easy to love him as many considered him the ‘underdog’. He has managed to win more hearts of housemates and fans because of his talent. He is always ready to dive into tasks and is never afraid to show off that he is someone with eyes for the arts. His focus on showing off his talents earned him a protector in Jaypee and a jail-free card from eviction. It’s easy to look at some housemates and assume they don’t have what it takes to go far in the game. Yet, they are still in the game 35 days after. Blue Aiva and Miracle, who came in late in the game, have been the subjects of the most conversation in the house. Ipeleng, who is one of the most conservative housemates, has managed to shock fans over and over again.
A game is a game
Some housemates are emotional and don’t take decisive decisions with a clear head. Housemates in the house like Ebubu, Kanaga Jr, Yemi, and Yvonne approach every opportunity to make a strategic move with clear eyes. Then there are those like Marvin who get in their feelings when people play the game and refuse to let things go. Marvin has been burnt twice yet he remains emotional and easily gets distracted.
