As the ongoing Nigerian Idol 5 inches towards climax, what looks like the possible winners is beginning to be evident, going by the performances of some of the contestants.
After the most-aided contestant, Sther, was eventually evicted last week, the remaining five candidates on the show played a game of supremacy, each singing two Nigerian hits, to impress the audience and judges.
But it appears K-Peace was the most favoured on the night, singing Shake body by Skales. That performance further stamped him as the people’s favourite. Having picked up the tempo from where Dolu left off, he put up an electrifying and sensational show that got him a standing ovation from Darey and others.
“I can watch him all night. He looks like a true performer, let’s be honest. The song is not exactly vocally challenging, but he showed the ability to carry the audience along and get response from them because he is a performer,” said Mannie, a guest judge on the show.
The night had started on a low key, as Classiq Tunez and Preye failed to deliver on their renditions of Wizkid’s Show me the money and Johnny by Yemi Alade respectively.
Mannie, an on-air-personality with Cool FM, believed that Classiq Tunez struggled with his pitch while Preye, on the other hand, produced a somewhat interesting performance, but did not light up the stage with the appropriate energetic dance required to match the theme of the song.
Dolu showed a different stuff when she performed Tiwa Savage’s Wanted. “After all the struggles, it’s nice to see you come of age. You are beginning to own the stage, oozing confidence,” said Darey.
Nex2’s performance of Davido’s Gobe was a reflection of the typical energetic performance he appears to have made his own on the show.
In the second round of performance, Classiq Tunez, like his first show, failed to hit the form that has endeared him to his fans on the show. His delivery of Wizkid’s Back to the Matter was adjudged flat, as it did not resonate with the audience and judges who were unimpressed with a telling puckered brow. As a result of that, Mannie advised him to avoid songs by Wizkid while Dede, echoing same sentiments with Darey, noted it was worse than the previous one.
“For today, I am sorry, my brother, your second outing was worse than your first,” he noted.
The other four contestants gave good accounts of themselves, but the duo of Preye and Nex2 produced the two best performances of the second half.
Preye’s rendition of Kcee’s Limpopo was enough to make up for the obvious gaps noticeable in her first half showing. She may not rank among the Show’s great dancers, but she did enough to provoke a standing ovation from the four judges.
Nex2 posted his best performance ever on the show when he took to the stage to perform Timi Dakolo’s Iyawo Mi. It was one performance that etched itself in many minds with the accompaniment of theatrics.
The show, which focuses on discovering Nigerian youths with talent in music and giving them a unique platform to take shots at stardom, is staking a whooping N7.5 million cash reward for the would-be winner. The cash prize is complemented with a brand new SUV, a recording deal worth N7.5 million with South-Africa’s Universal Music label and some high-end devices.
Nigerian Idol season 5 is sponsored by Etisalat Nigeria, Payporte, Cool Fm, Tantalizers, Cadbury Nigeria, Zaron, Dabur Toothpaste, So-Klin, ORS and Ellis Suites.
