Victory Gbakara’s declaration as the winner of the music reality TV show, Nigerian Idol Season 8, after eight weeks of fierce contest, brought a befitting end to a show that carved a niche for itself.
After a hard-won victory over equally impressive Precious Mac, Gbakara, a lawyer-turned-music sensation has now joined the elite group of past winners of the competition.
Effectively, he will now be considered peers with past winners like Onyekachi Elizabeth Onwuka (Yeka Onka), Mercy Chinwo, Moses Obi-Adigwe (Moses), Zibili Evely Ibhade (Evelle), Kunle Ogunrombi (K-Peace), Kingdom Kroseide (Kingdom) and Progress Chukwueme (Progress), who won last year’s edition.
To cart home the N100m grand prize, Gbakara polled the most votes of the 33 million votes cast for the final week, bringing the total number of votes recorded for the season to 165 million since the live show began on May 28.
Within the final stretch of the programme, the self-proclaimed church boy locked horns with other amazing contestants including, Quest, Ose Daniel, Goodness, Savvy Henry, Reigny, Constance, Chisom, and Abraham.
As Top Two finalists, Victory and Precious gave the judges, studio audience, and viewers loads of entertainment with their live performances of the judges’ choice, contestant’s choice, and a rendition of a certain song performed by one of the auditioned participants should have been performed.
The grand prize includes ₦35 million cash, a brand new SUV, one Bigi Refrigerator, a one-year supply of Bigi soft drinks, an all-expense paid trip to Cape Town, South Africa, courtesy Tecno; a music record deal by a reputable label that will include a video shoot, one year supply of WAW detergent, and a fully installed DStv Explora with one year of Premium subscription.
Beyond his vocal strength, control ability and ways of “owning” songs handed him for performances, Victory projected grace and poise with his infectious smile that would make a beauty queen want him in her arms.
The Final Showdown
This year’s edition of the MultiChoice-owned music reality contest, powered by Bigi soft drink, a brand from Rites Food Ltd and Tecno Mobile as headline sponsors, which commenced on April 23, saw over 10,000 people who auditioned for the show whittled down to 29 contestants, and further trimmed to the top 10 contenders.
In the last round of the competition, Victory and Precious united with solid chemistry to give a beautiful performance of Stay by Rihanna, a song co-written by Mikky Ekko and Justin Parker. The song was released as the second single for the heavily pregnant RiRi’s seventh album Unapologetic.
Son of an archbishop father and bishop mother, Victory was not Locked Out of Heaven as the angels were on assignment for him as he performed the song by Bruno Mars. He did justice to the song with his show-stopper performance. The song was released as the lead single for Bruno Mars’ second studio album Unorthodox Jukebox in 2012.
He was indeed “blessed” with a crown as he wowed everyone with the re-enactment of his unplugged performance weeks back of Wizkid’s Blessed, a song off the Grammy award winner’s Made In Lagos album, which was released in 2020.
Last week, Victory “tutored” Apollos, one of the wannabe Nigerian Idol contestants during the wooden mic (audition stage) on how James Brown’s This Is A Man’s World should be performed, a performance Simi described as “sexy as hell.”
Performing Nicole C. Mullen’s My Redeemer Lives, which was picked for him by the Kokomaster as D’Banj is also called in the judges’ choice, Victory gave a good account of himself not just as a potential music superstar, but as a true church boy as he said during the show.
He didn’t disappoint Bangalee’s choice of song as he turned the performance into a gospel concert, leading the judges and the studio audience to an awesome moment of praise to God. The judges loved his performance of the song.
As a follow-up to her comment on the music reality star’s performance of James Brown’s This Is A Man’s World, Simi said, “Your range is remarkable. It’s incredible how you switched from sexy Vic to Pastor Vic.”
Victory switched the live show to a boogie party with his performance of Harry Styles’ As It Was, which the judges hailed him for his positive energy. After greeting him especially, D’Banj called him a “light warrior.”
Stunned by his win, Victory thanked the show’s organisers and fans for the opportunity, saying, “I can’t contain my joy; I am so happy, guys. This journey has been a life-changing experience, and it would not have been possible without the support and love of my family, friends, and especially my incredible fans.
With her amazing vocal and singing ability, Precious Mac gave the contest her all, and this saw her emerge as one of the Top Two finalists. However, fate and destiny had their way, as she was not the viewers’ choice for the coveted Nigerian Idol title.
In the battle for the crown, Precious during the last round of the contest recreated the magic of her show-stopping performance as she performed once more Rockabye by Clean Bandit. The song was released in 2016 as the lead single from Clean Bandit’s second studio album titled What is Love.
Her second performance was Rihanna’s Diamonds, which was chosen for her by viewers in the past. Written by Sia, Benny Blanco, and Stargate, the song was released as the lead single for Rihanna’s seventh studio album Unapologetic.
Before this week’s performances, Precious thrilled the judges, studio audience, and viewers with her performance of Adele’s Rolling in the Deep, a song written by Adele and Paul Epworth as the lead single to her second album 21.
Reflecting on Victory’s performances all season long, Obi-Asika, one of the judges said, “Victory Gbakara has always been a star and one could see his potential right from the auditions stage. We the judges are proud to watch him grow throughout the competition and emerge as the show’s winner.”
