By Anthonia Soyingbe – Lagos
Nigerian rapper, Ikechukwu Onunaku better known as Ikechukwu was at the weekend a guest judge in the on-going Season Five of the Nigerian Idol TV Reality Show for the second time ever, where he joined celebrity judges, Dede Mabiaku, Yinka Davies and Darey ‘Art’ Alade to oversee proceedings during the top 4 show.
The rapper was an instant hit with the audience who had given him a rapturous welcome following his introduction by Show anchor, Illryhmz.
He later took a break from his judging assignment to entertain the audience with a performance of his latest work ‘Ololo’ featuring Olamide and which recently shot video is enjoying mass viewership.
Meanwhile, the fight to stay and contend for the N7.5 million cash prize in the show
continued at the weekend with some rounds of musical performances by the four remaining contestants.
The contestants competing for the top prize include the quartet of K-Peace, Preye, Dolu and Nex2. They had scaled through the last eviction hurdle which claimed Classic Tunez, who had a rather disenchanting and forgettable performance the previous week.
In what appeared like a repeat of last week’s template, the contestants were scheduled on a run of two solo performances from each, and also two duets centred around the themes; ‘Social change’ and ‘Love’. And on a night that expectedly had promised much, only Dolu showed up with such an overwhelmingly convincing performance to the delight of the audience and judges.
The 25 years old from Ondo was a refreshing reminder of Whitney Houston in her prime as she performed the late diva’s hit song, ‘I Will Always Love You’. She had raised the bar for herself in the first round of performances and subsequently salvaged a night filled with inconsistent performances from the other contestants when she rendered Sam Cooke’s ‘A change is gonna Come’.
Celebrity Guest Judge, Ikechukwu could not hide his admiration for her performances as he singled her out as the leading light on the night.
And speaking about this while commenting on her rendition of Sam Cooke’s song, the rapper confessed to being brought to tears.
The performances tonight were great, but someone stood out more than the others. Dolu was just above the others tonight. She is the complete Nigerian Idol we are looking for, this is how I feel. I hope she carries it across with votes,” said Ikechukwu.
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