Nigerian Idol Season 9 to premiere on 21 April

The programme, spanning 12 weeks and culminating on 14 July, will showcase young, undiscovered Nigerian musicians.

Last year, the competition crowned Victory Gbakara as the winner and rewarded him with a grand prize valued at ₦50 million (about $111,000 last year). This included N35 million in cash, a car and a recording contract. Other past winners of the competition include Mercy Chinwo, Moses Obi-Adigwe, Evelle, K-Peace, Kingdom Kroseide and Progress Chukwuyem.

This year, broadcaster IK Osakioduwa returns as host, while singers Omawumi, Ric Hassani and 9ice have been named on the competition’s jury panel, replacing D’banj, Simi and Obi Asika.

On his unique role on this year’s contest, Ric Hassani, who describes himself as the “technical judge”, said: “I think I’m going to bring more vigour to the show. I’m going to bring more tenacity. I’m going to bring more fire. I want to hear really good singers. This is a role I take very seriously, so I can’t wait to get started. “

On what it would take to win the competition, he noted: “You have to know what you’re doing, know what you can do and know what you can’t do so that you can learn how to get it right. I feel like the Nigerian Idol platform is where you come to shine, but you also come to learn and that’s very important because how you shine is by learning and putting your head down. That’s what I want to see.”

On her part, Omawumi stressed the need for contestants to be ready and determined for the competition’s challenges, noting that there can only be one winner. She added that success requires both hard work and expertise, a combination she believes is the winning formula.

“MultiChoice is committed to enabling young talent to actualise their dreams and delivering premium entertainment to our audience,” MultiChoice executive head of content and channels West Africa Busola Tejumola said. “The success of previous editions of Nigerian Idol has encouraged more young Nigerians to dare to dream. Today they are some of the voices that carry our African stories and inspire others to live their dreams. Season 9 promises to be bigger and more entertaining than other seasons.”