Nigerian Idol: Mercy Chinwo and 7 Other Past Winners of the TV Singing Competition and Their Career Progress

• The Nigerian Idol is a music talent hunt show hosted by Multichoice since its inception in 2011, despite having a 5-year hiatus in between its last two seasons
• Legint.ng detailed the champions of the singing feat, their pursuit, and their career progress in the Nigerian music industry

In 2007, M-Net brought the Idol series franchise to Nigeria with the premiere of the first and only season of Idols West Africa. Timi Dakolo won the first competition of its sort on the African continent. The R&B and soul musician, who has won multiple awards for his work, has achieved the pinnacle of success with two studio albums and countless hit songs.

In 2011, the franchise returned with a locally adapted version named Nigerian Idol, where Onyekachi Elizabeth Gilbert Onwuka sang her way to the title of the inaugural edition.

With the recent victory of Victory Gbakara in the recently concluded eighth season of the television series, Legit.ng has compiled the list below to inform its readers of the show’s previous champions.

Onyekachi Elizabeth Gilbert Onwuka

Best known as Yeka Onka, she made history on March 26, 2011, when she won the maiden season of Nigerian Idol, taking home NGN 7.5 million in cash, a recording contract with Sony, and an all-expenses-paid journey to South Africa.

Following her win, she released her first official single, Follow You, which was produced by Jesse Jagz. Yeka released her first single, a stirring ballad named “Help,” in May of 2014. The song was written in support of the #BringBackOurGirls movement in Nigeria.

Mercy Chinwo

On April 7, 2012, Mercy Chinwo was crowned the winner of the second season of the Nigerian Idol

The Gospel singer is currently one of the most successful winners of the music competition.

Her debut single, Testimony, was released in 2015, followed by Igwe a year later. By 2018, Mercy Chinwo was a well-known gospel vocalist outside of Nigeria, having won several awards, including Best Gospel Artiste at the 2018 CLIMAX Awards and Gospel Artiste of the Year.

Mercy Chinwo has also explored her potential in the film industry, particularly a year after she won the music competition with her appearance in Yvonne Nelson’s House of Gold. The award-winning movie starred Majid Michel, Omawumi Megbele, Ice Prince Zamani, and many more.

Moses Obi-Adigwe

Moses Obi Adigwe was declared the winner of the third season of Nigerian Idol in 2013, making him the first male to do so. Moses released three singles within one year: Love in the Air, Number One, and Love Letter, featuring Eva Alordiah.

Moses, however, admitted in an interview with Punch in 2018 that the organisers had not kept all of their promises to him.

He was supposed to take home a brand-name SUV, a N7.5 million check, and a N7.5 million recording contract.

“Nothing was also what it looked like; the promises that were made by the organisers were not necessarily fulfilled.

“There were lots of dramas, issues surrounding the whole Idol thing. These are things I’d rather not get into because I am over it. Maybe sometime in my life, I will write a book and talk about it.”

He disclosed that he received the brand-new SUV, but it took a considerable amount of time for him to receive the money.

Evelyn Ibhade, also known as Evelle

Evelyn Ibhade, also known as Evelle, won Season 4 of Nigerian Idol in 2014, returning victory to the female constants. She later released her debut song, Kilimanjaro, produced by the Grammy-winning Pheelz. Another of her hit songs, ‘Time to Shine,’ was used in the movie Tatu, which earned the 2018 AMVCA for Best Movie Soundtrack.

Ogunrounbi Olakunle K-Peace

K-Peace, also known as Ogunrounbi Olakunle, emerged as the winner of the fifth season of Nigerian Idol. He went home with a brand-new SUV, N7.5 million in cash, and a recording contract with Universal Music Group.

Kingdom Kroseide

Season 6 of the singing competition returned in 2021 after a five-year hiatus, with Kingdom Kroseide emerging as the show’s winner.

Kingdom won the grand cash reward of N30 million naira, a brand-new SUV, a recording contract for a six-track EP with three music videos included, a trip to Seychelles, and a weekend getaway to Dubai for two.

Progress Chukwueme, aka Progress

On Sunday, May 22, 2022, Progress from Delta State was crowned the show’s champion, defeating Zadok to receive a 100 million naira prize.

Victory Gbakara

Victory Gbakara emerged as the victorious champion of the eighth season of Nigeria’s most-watched singing competition after eight weeks of intense competition. Victory received the grand prize of N100 million, which includes N35 million in cash. Additionally, Gbakara’s victory came with a music record deal and a video shoot opportunity.

Nigerian Idol winner Victory Gbakara speaks on his sound, plan & more

After emerging as the winner of the eighth edition of the music reality show Nigerian Idol, Victory Gbakara is set to give his fans and well wishes the best.

In an interview with Legit.ng Victory expressed his love for Mavin label boss Don Jazzy.

He also revealed his desire to work with the likes of top music stars Wizkid, Davido, Rema and Burna Boy.

Source: Legit.ng