It’s only recently that I became aware of Nigerian Idol. I’m from Devon, England, so I’m pretty much poles apart from Nigeria; most people here have no idea that such a show even exists. It’s available as standard on Sky, but most people never venture beyond Sky 2, or Paramount. You know what? They’re really missing out. And if you’ve never seen Nigerian Idol, you probably are too.
The fact is that Nigerian Idol has twice the unpredictability and drama of American Idol- or any other American talent show, for that matter. The budget is lower, and tension is higher; sometimes things go wrong- as when, recently, strikes prevented the show airing for a couple of weeks. Actually, things often go wrong. You never know what’s coming. But that’s not why I love Nigerian Idol.
There’s more at stake too- Yeka Onka, the first Nigerian Idol, won a prize of 7.5 million Naira and launched a huge career. Many contestants live in near poverty before they get their big break, and it’s great to see a talented performer go from rags to riches. But that’s not why I love Nigerian Idol.
No, I love Nigerian Idol because once you’ve seen series two, never again will you think of Simon Cowell as the scariest judge in the world. Simon Cowell would not last a minute against Charly Boy, a.k.a Area Fader, a performer described by his own Nigerian Idol bio as ‘outrageous’. Indeed, he’s lived up to that title during his time on the show, causing trouble time and again- particularly at an audition in Enugu, when he brought his pet python Abiku along for the ride. The huge snake escaped from the box Charly was keeping him in and attacked the film crew- he could only be calmed down by Area Fader himself.
As a judge, Charly Boy is very softly spoken- belying his extreme style of dress. He usually appears in biker outfits, complete with dreadlocks and eye makeup. He’s pretty scary-looking, and the overall result is a judge who you would not want to argue with, no matter how much you believe in yourself. “It’s all a front”, I hear you cry, “It’s just for show- what’s the worst he could do?” Well, since you ask, he often brings a samurai sword to auditions. I haven’t seen him use it… yet.
In all seriousness though, western culture could use a few more performers like Charly Boy. There’s nothing particularly out-of-the-ordinary about his rise to fame, but he’s made a name by being genuinely shocking and outrageous. We have shocking performers too, of course, but we don’t celebrate them in the same way. You’d never see Marilyn Manson on the panel of X Factor, for example. Nigeria do celebrate Charly Boy, and as a result their version of the show makes for much better viewing than ours. Kudos to Charly Boy, my personal Nigerian Idol.