10 Finalists Set to Grab the Crown on FirstBank-Sponsored The Voice Nigeria 4
…As Remi, Manuel, Gidion, Other Stars Exited Painfully
By THECONSCIENCEng
Emotions ran so high on the voice Nigeria show as more highly rated talents dropped out in the elimination series, leaving the last ten going into the finale as the musical reality tv show which premiered on December 24 inched to a glamorous closure.
The show is sponsored in Nigeria by First Bank, the nation’s 129-year-old premier financial powerhouse, as part of its strategic support for arts, entertainment and youth development.
Scores of talents had started the show with many easing out along the stages – Blind Auditions, Knockouts, Battles and now the Live Show episodes.
The 18th episode of the show opened with results from last week’s voting. Queen Jasper and Pere were announced to have been saved by the viewers votes for teams Naeto C and Niyola. Luck also smiled on Mike Frost and Nicole. And Adeola – all saved.
Sadly, Bryan wasn’t saved. Same for Manual and Gidion, flagship talents for team Niyola/Ice Prince. Both had been so phenomenal. They even broke a record during the season. It was heartbreaking to see them go.
It was soon eviction time for teams Waje and Praiz, both with all male talents. Ikande, Ben, Marz, Shy and Matt De Baritone, a key classical singer of the season, were all saved. And quite unbelievably, only Remi was axed. Praiz couldn’t hide his sadness as he held his head in pain and disbelief. Remi has been described by several coaches as worthy of being a vocal instructor, even to coaches. He is adjudged as one of the best vocalists on the show who has delivered his songs perfectly but the audience votes went otherwise.
Then performance started for the week. It was Coach Waje’s Ikande who opened the curtain with a rendition of Alexander Burks’ Hallelujah. The elated talent recounted how his last week’s video was liked and reposted to social media by the award-winning group – Maverick City, to his unbelievable joy and excitement.
Matt de Baritone then delivered another of his signature classical tunes, “My Way” by Frank Sinatra in a scintillating manner. Naeto C described it as ‘the big boy’s performance’
Marrz soon performed Lewis Capaldi’s “Before You Go” as a tribute to a friend he lost to sickle cell in 2020. It was laden with emotions.
It was the turn of Naeto C’s all-female team as they came on with splendid performances and spectacular song choices.
Nicole’s delivery left the coaches speechless especially, Coach Ice Prince. The amiable rapper who was grooving to her rendition of Adele’s “Easy On Me’’ was caught by surprise when the singer walked to his seat and sang to him.
Queen Jasper dug deep to deliver a deeply touching performance of Whitney Houston’s classical hit, “I Have Nothing”, a theme song for the $411 million grossing 1992 action romance movie, The Bodyguard which starred late Houston and Kevin Costner.
Adeola was the last singer for team Naeto C and she lived up to the billing with a powerful execution of Omawumi’s popular song “In The Music”.
The shy singer was in a different altitude with a very energetic performance which got Coach Waje dancing on her feet. And For Naeto C, Adeola has evolved significantly with the show, getting better episode after episode.
Team Praiz is left with 2 talents for the finals – Bhen and Shy.
It was a sonorous mood when Bhen did ‘Beneath your beautiful’ by Labrinth & Emeli Sande. Shy later delivered a wonderful performance of ‘Isn’t She Lovely’ by Stevie Wonder which got the judges mesmerized. There was however a mild drama between Praiz who stood up, went on stage and hugged the talent, and Naeto C who insisted the performance wasn’t satisfactory. Anchor Kate Henshaw had to quickly cool things down as the two respected and critical coaches exchanged words slightly.
Like Praiz, Team Niyola has only two talents left.
Mike Frost gave his all with ‘Sacrifice’ by Sir Elton John. The performance got him an early booking at Ice Prince’s soon-to-be-set wedding date. Waje said it will be a duet with her.
Pere was so sweet to behold with a groovy, disco delivery of ‘Marvin Gaye’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’’. The singer was super impressive in his high tempo performance that got Waje mesmerised as the episode ended on a melodious note.
FINALIST?
Nicole, Queen Jasper, Adeola, Marrz, Matt, Ikande, Mike Frost, Pere, Bhen and Shy are the lucky last talents heading to the grand finale.
With many rooting for Pere, Ikande and Nicole, expectations are quite high as to who gets crowned for season four. The viewers votes will tell.
Voting can be done on votestudio.live or thevoicenigeria.com
The Voice Nigeria is a global talents show organised by the UN1TY Nigeria to discover, nurture and bring to the fore musical talents amongst the next generation of Nigerian youth.
For the past 129 years, FirstBank has given and will continue to give voice to Nigerians by creating employment, and economic empowerment in the country through its products, services, and initiatives.
