Franchise owners of Nigerian Idol, Optima Media Group (OMG) have announced the conclusion of the nationwide auditions for the leading TV music reality show that commenced a month ago in Benin City, Edo State. This follows a successful last leg of the auditions at the company’s Dream Studios, Bamako Estate, adjacent Omole Phase 1, Ojodu Berger, Lagos. The Nigerian Idol auditions which took place in five designated Nigerian cities, between January 10 and February 9, was monitored by the celebrity judges, Dede Mabiaku, Yinka Davies and Dare ‘Art’ Alade, alongside show presenter and AOP, Ill Rhymz. The auditions presented windows of opportunities for first-hand assessment of the thousands of youths with music talents who had thronged the respective venues to compete for places in the next phase of the competition. A total of 100 most outstanding contestants were pooled from the auditions. After series of group performances in Lagos, this number will further be pruned towards arriving at the final twelve. “It was not a surprise to see the hundreds and thousands of immensely talented youngsters that turned up at the centres. We are glad to have created for them a global platform to showcase their music potentials,” stated Ugochi Pedro, Executive Director, OMG. A remarkable highlight of the auditions was the award of flight ticket by the judges to Ameh Igiri, a contestant at the Abuja auditions. The 24 year-old Ediba native, in Cross River State, had failed to scale the first screening hurdle at the Port Harcourt auditions a week earlier. Spurred on by some quiet confidence and sheer resilience, she travelled from her residence in Enugu State to the Abuja auditions, courtesy a friend, who picked up the bill. Ameh was also the first contestant at the Abuja auditions to be awarded a Golden Ticket by the judges, thus making her one of the top 100 contestants for the top 12 slots. The Golden Ticket is usually awarded to any exceptional talent identified by the judges in a unanimous decision. There were about 30 Golden Tickets won from the five audition centers.
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