The Grand Finale. How Timi Won!

It was the day many West Africans had been waiting for. The Grand Finale of Idols West Africa was taking place. Maryland, Lagos was a beehive of activities as fans and supporters trooped into Planet One as early as 3:30 pm. Guests were let in at about 5:30 pm and took their seats (and their stands). While the presenters were doing the final sound checks just before the show, all the previous performances of Timi and Omawumi were played back. It began with the playback of Timi's "Stuck on you" performance drawing instant applause from the audience. Omawumi's "Ekwe" and "I will survive" also drew cheers from the crowd. Both good and bad performances were played and the mood was set. The show finally began with an official asking everyone to switch off their phones and turn off the flashlights from their cameras as it would interfere with the recording equipment (That's why the pictures were not clear o! I couldn't use flash, please forgive).

The show was kicked off by Basket Mouth - a popular Nigerian Stand up comedian. He made the place burst into life with his jokes and picky "Yabs". Next to get on stage was the host of the show Mike Majic. For all those who don't like Mike's presentation style, I'll tell you he really is doing a good job. Everything he says is read from a screen displayed to him. He has to read everything and still make it sound natural, and I must say he did a good job. He intimated us on what awaited us during the performances of the night and got us all expectant.

The first event of the night was a group song by six of the top 10. Omodele, Joan, Uche, Mercy, Jerrilyn and Temitayo gave a wonderful group performance with each taking individual solos in the song. It was a great performance. Never before had viewers seen a group song in the Idols West Africa competition, and they were not disappointed.

Mike then announced that each of the Top 2 would be doing 3 songs each. There was a recap of each contestant's journey through Idols. We all laughed when we saw their first pictures at the audition. They looked so innocent compared the their present states - especially Omawumi. Timi was first on stage with a remake of his "How am I supposed to live without you" performance. As usual he delivered excellently, capturing hearts with his stage presence and the applause was great. Omawumi was next with a remake of her "I will survive" performance. Exhibiting her unique strength and vigor, she made her fans wild. Up next again was Timi with his "Stuck on you" performance and like before, he blew the minds of the audience. Omawumi then came up with a rendition of her "Ekwe" performance to end the first segment of the show.

Up next was a very spectacular segment. Each of the two would be doing self-composed songs. Timi was first with a song he wrote titled "I love you". He delivered it with the great style that only Timi knew how. The lyrics and structure of the song were great. It was a very melodious mid tempo song and the audience easily learnt the words well enough to join in the chorus. Soon, everyone was singing together. Omawumi was next. Dressed in a see through black attire and thigh length black stockings to match, she immediately drove her (male) fans crazy. She sang her self-composed song "You got me", an old school style with an old school beat that reminded one of the early 90s.

Up next was another surprise. Singing Rod Stewart's "You are everything" were Uche and Jodie in a duet. In Jodie's words, this was a dream come true because Uche was her choice amongst the top 10 to perform a duet with. The hall was alive with cheers for Jodie and Uche. Jodie's fans especially went crazy with excitement at this chance to see her perform one more time on the Idols West Africa stage. Their performance was a good highlight of the night's events, partly because everyone had been expecting this duet when they were both absent from the group song, and also because Uche is the favorite evicted male contestant while Jodie is the favorite evicted female contestant. The cheers were great and people screamed, talk about "Medicine after death", it was too late.

Finally, the great moment had come. The results were about to be announced. Timi and Omawumi came on stage for the final time. First, they got some words of advice from the judges after which the results were brought to the stage. Dede quoted Guest Judge Reggie Rockstone as saying, "I wish Omawumi will win, but if she doesn't win, I will adopt her". At this time, there was pin drop silence. Mike Majic didn't help matters as he created what he knew best how to. Tension! I could swear that if someone had a gun in that hall, they would have gladly threatened Mike with it so he could speed up the announcement. Finally, the golden words, "The winner of the Idols West Africa Title is ... [pause] ... [pause] ... Timi! There was a great uproar in the hall. People screamed, jumped up and down, embraced each other in emotional bursts, shed tears and there was insanity in the hall for a few minutes. Linda (my blogger friend whom I met at the show) jumped up and down like a mad woman (her own words) and Foluso Aloko (my friend who help me get the entry ticket) lost her voice totally from screaming so much. Timi himself was overwhelmed. He jumped, laughed, danced, cried, knelt, screamed while the soundtrack to his self-composed song "I love you" was played. It was a wonderful period as all the other contestants in the top 10 came on stage to cheer him, and there were cheers, and laughing, and crying, and hugging ... and the show ended on that note.

After the show, the judges and the guest judge Reggie Rockstone were bombarded with autograph requests. I never knew Nigerians were that crazy about autographs. People were quarreling and almost snatching autographs from one another. The judges' table was so tightly surrounded that Dan, Nana and Dede were barely visible and security operatives had to barge in and restore some order, after which I managed to get some good pictures of the judges.

Timi has really come a long way, and he really deserved to win. Anyone who was at the finale will realise that though Omawumi was very good and quite versatile, she was really no match for Timi in terms of stage presence and connection with people's minds ... and these are the major qualities which make a platinum record sale. I'm happy my votes did not go to waste (you don't want to know how many votes I cast for this guy) and I know Timi will not dissapoint Nigeria and we will be proud of him. And so he went home with the grand prize of a recording contract from Sony/BMG Africa International, a Kia Picanto from Nigeria’s Dana Group, $10000 cash from Ecobank, and an ultimate viewing experience of a 26-inch LCD TV and an I-Pod from the show’s headline sponsor Celtel. And so ended a journey which has been ongoing for about 4 months. A journey which saw great and little singers drop by the way side. People say this has really changed the music industry and no "yeye" artist will dare to release "any kind yeye" song again. Personally, I await Timi's CD and I know I won't be disappointed.

More Pictures






Mike Majic

















The Judges













Guest Judge Reggie Rockstone (far left) and VIPs














The Duet - Uche and Jodie












The group performance: L-R, Omodele, Eric, Jerrilyn, Temitayo, Joan and Mercy.














The Duet - Uche and Jodie
















Omawumi - Ekwe





















Omawumi - You got me















Timi - How am I supposed to live without you















Timi and Omawumi exchange final words before the results














Under Tension !!!












The top 10 cheer Timi

After the Show

Me and Mike Majic














Me and Friends (From Right: Foluso Aloko, Tayo, Kenny, Yomi and Me)














Me and Linda Ikeji













Dan Foster















Nana Abrewa

















Dede Mabiaku

















The Production Crew













The Planet One Stage - Where it all started and ended!