Nigerian Idol REVEALED! Audu Maikori, Yinka Davies & Jeffrey Daniel are the judges with radio personality Yemisi ‘Misi’ Fajimolu as the host

As Nigerian Idol is prepping to kick off, it has been revealed that Multitalented entertainer Yinka Davies, CEO of Chocolate City Audu Maikori and American dancer and singer Jeffery Daniel will be judges for the first edition of Nigerian Idol.

These music enthusiasts tactically selected from different fields in the music industry will be responsible for judging and critiquing the performances of the contestants right from auditions to show proper. Apart from evaluating their performances they will also be advising them on how to make their performances better.

At a media launch held in Lagos early this week, CEO Optima Media Group Rotimi Pedro stated “Judging is a critical part of Idols, and as the format states, a record producer, Music director, Music Company executive, Vocal coach, casting director, Radio DJ, Songwriter, Music journalist or Artist Manager can be saddled with these duties, and that’s what we have done.

Idol judges since inception have been known to give accurate and sometimes stinging appraisals on the performances of the contestants; creating intrigues and drama for home entertainment, while helping the talents be the best they can be. In most cases, their evaluation of these performances has tilted public opinion. Most Nigerians are familiar with Idol Judges like Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson and Ellen DeGeneres. Usually Idols has three judges (as in the US version) or four (in the European version).

For the first time ever, Maikori, Daniel and Davies will take up positions as judges of Nigerian Idol and play their

trusted role in commenting on the performances of this year’s contestants while helping the wannabes be the best they can be. The show will hosted by Yemisi Fajimolu (a.k.a Misi), an On Air personality with Beat 99.9FM. Nwoko continues “We are currently solidifying relationships with major television networks here and in other African countries, as well as inEurope and the United States. Music is a universal language, and we believe that Nigeria is a hub for music talent. With Nigerian Idol, we are dedicated to showing the world that we are ready to cross over into the international music scene. Nigerian Idol will produce the Next Big International Star from Nigeria’

Nigerian Idol will kick off with Auditions in Lagos, Abuja, Enugu and Calabar with Misi taking TV audiences through the show episode by episode. “I am so excited about this, it is a dream come true for me, and I can’t wait to start on this project” she says. Applications for Idols are available for talented singers between 16 and 28, after which a list of 50 contestants who will be given tasks to prove themselves as Nigeria’s singing Idol will be selected.
Audition first appeared on the official website www.nigerianidol.com on July 2, 2010
The programme will be sponsored by Etisalat.

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There are so many music-centric reality TV shows on Nigerian TV right now. Are you looking forward to another one? With ‘Idol’ being the most globally recognizable brand, we have high hopes for the programme. We really hope they do something different.

Here are photos from the Nigerian Idol media presentation which took place earlier today in Lagos.