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Tag: Alicia keys

  • Abraham, Reigny evicted from Nigerian Idol Season 8

    Abraham, Reigny evicted from Nigerian Idol Season 8

    The billboard week performance of the Nigerian Idol Season 8, backed by Bigi drink from the stable of Rite Foods Limited has seen two (2) contestants eliminated from the competition after receiving the lowest votes from the audiences of the treasured and cherished musical show in Nigeria.

    A week into the Live Show phase of the exhilarating music competition, the power was conceded to the spectators to decide who stays or goes off the show. To that effect, Abraham and Reigny became the first two-paired contestants to be served a quit notice from the show. Responding to the eviction, Abraham simply said “All is well” while Reigny stated that her heart was vague but regardless “It’s music on from here”.

    Before the live eviction, while having a brief interview with news men, the pre-live-show evicted twin brothers – Mina and Mura said they were rooting for Reigny due to her unique style, voice and personality, however, they were disenchanted as their favourite contestant would later join the home-bound train due to her inability to gathered enough votes to sustain her spot in the on-going competition.

    The highlight of the night came with aura, sparkle, excitement and staying power as the contestants grabbed the microphone with poise to win the hearts of the spectators through larger-than-life performances.

    Bold and beautiful Quest was the first to step on stage after the announcement of the evictee – Abraham. Defying the odds amidst the tense atmosphere, she was able to deliver ‘Damages’ by Tems with the demonstration of both stage presence as well as the enchanting brilliance of her performance, thereby thrilling the audience. Though, she was faulted by the duo of Dipo Oyebanjo aka D’Banj and Simisola Kosoko better known with her stage name of Simi, as both judges believed she was tensed and in a rush to deliver her presentation too fast. Commenting on her performance, Quest said her heart was racing seeing her friends evicted from the show, thereby justifying a glitch referred to by the two judges. For Obi Asika, she put in serious effort and a lot of energy considering her powerful voice control.

    Performing ‘It’s plenty’ by Burnaboy, Henry Savy made an exceptional stage which came with some uncanny verve; however, the judges felt the concentrated energy was a bit low compared to the owner of the song’s vibes. “It’s amazing. You killed it but the energy is low” opined Simi. Obi also felt he needed to do something different and extra considering the uniqueness of his voice.

    Fantastic Precious Mac wowed the judges and audience with her ‘Overdose’ performance of Marvin Records. The judges all agreed that her delivery was unique and excellent. “I like the way you carry and own the song” Simi praised her. Obi and D’Banj believed her swag is on point while the audiences were left captivated.

    The Bigi Tamarin guy with a big personality and demanding presence – Chisom beautified the arena with Asake’s ‘Peace belongs to you’ as he dressed the path. Though the previous contestants were hailed but Chisom overrode them all leading to D’Banj’s remarks “I want to greet you specially. You came ready, entertained and performed beautifully.” What makes his performance extraordinary is despite not a Yoruba native speaker, he held the note till the end.

    Goodness, the ‘Church girl’, took the ride through rap challenge with her ‘Feeling’ by Ladipo performance. Though, this is not her thing but she proved she could do anything to stay in the race and among the best. Justifying that, Simi said “Oh my goodness. I’m disappointed because I judged you wrongly. You did well”.  D’Banj said her performance was ‘exceptionally’ while Asika commented “You made it easy; you killed the vocal and everything else”.

    Looking all angelic, the youngest, and a dynamic singer, Constance who clocked 18-years old few days ago, as usual left an undiluted impression with the judges and audience, after performing ‘Alone’ by Burnaboy. She got an ‘incredible look and great singing’ remark from Obi Asika, ‘Superstar’ from D’Banj and ‘interesting sound, keep taking the lessons’ from Simi.

    Soft and gentle man on stage – Ose Daniel, who is a Bigi Tropical drink fan mesmerized the audience with electrifying performance of ‘Bandana’ by Asake. Commenting on his performance, said Obi Asika “You unlock yourself. Welcome to Nigerian Idol”. Simi said indeed Ose stepped up his game and that was beautiful to behold. As for D’Banj, he approved that the entertainment card was played really well by Ose.

    The last man standing, and of course Simi’s favourite – Victory is believed to have a distinct personality approaching from his previous interactions and last performance of Alicia Keys ‘Falling’. And this time, he lively with a cheerful smile delivered yet-another foreign song – ‘As It Was’ by Harry Styles which capped the night with attention-grabbing finish.

    To retain favourite contestants till the end, they need votes and that could be done through MyDStv APP, GOtv APP, SMS and Africa Magic official website. The live show edition for the Season 8 would continue to be aired on DStv Channel 154 and GOtv Channel 11 (Magic Showcase).

  • Exclusive Chat with Chef Millie Peartree at the GTCO Food and Drink Festival

    Exclusive Chat with Chef Millie Peartree at the GTCO Food and Drink Festival

    Chef Millie Peartree, known as the “Queen of Repurpose”, is a Bronx-based, world-renowned chef, taste-maker, and restaurateur who has spent the last decade perfecting her craft. It wasn’t until she entered her first baking contest that she realized her baking (and now culinary) talent would evolve into a successful and innovative culinary enterprise. Millie has a knack for creating unconventional tasting menus and experiential activations using well-known products not often considered cooking ingredients. With the ability to cook for many consumers, her talents lend themselves well to on-site activation demos, tastings, sampling, and branding opportunities. She has worked with some of the nation and world’s most widely recognized brands and celebrities, including MLB, Rolex, PepsiCo, Jay-Z & Beyonce, MTV, Delta Airlines, NY Mets, Alicia Keys, Dole, Band-aid and many more.

    She was one of the facilitators of the Masterclass at the 2023 GTCO Food and Drink Fair in Lagos, Nigeria. Our team had a chat with her, please find below excerpt-

    NW: How did you start this business?

    CMP: I started my culinary career. It was shortly after my mom passed away. And it was more transitional to continue to create memories that my mom made with me and that I did with my little brothers and sisters. So from there, it just skyrocketed. And I feel like it’s a blessing to be able to do what you love. So I’m really excited that I can continue my journey through cooking.

    NW: What made you actually choose soul food as your area of expertise and not any other type of cuisine?

    CMP: Well, I chose the area of soul food because- number one, it is part of my culture, my heritage, and what I grew up eating. But most importantly, I wanted to continue to create those happy memories through food and pretty much in remembrance of my mom. So it just only felt natural. So I cook and serve the food that I know. And with that, I bring her in spirit every time I make one of her dishes.

    NW: What was your most Creative challenge thus far?

    CMP: The creative towels are one of my most creative challenges, or one of my hardest obstacles, per se, or I created an event for a rapper named Young Jeezy. And we were at the venue, and the stove didn’t work. So instantly, I had to use someone’s stove in an apartment. Luckily, it was in a building where people live. And you know, you have to work on instinct sometimes, when you’re hired to do a service, you know, you have to show up and get the job done. Like nobody really cares what doesn’t go on. They just know that they want their job done. That was one of those situations where I had to be the most instinctive and it worked out for the best.

    Listening to the audience with rapt attention

    NW: As a first-time visitor to Nigeria, what inspired you to try Nigerian okra in your recipe, as you showed us during the Masterclass?

    CMP: Well, I grew up eating okra. So the first time I actually had fried okra was at a gas station in Beaufort, South Carolina, I was going to visit my aunt. And in the States, we have gas station favourites and street food. And in New York, our gas station favourites, I like hot dogs. And that was the first time I actually had it. But my mom made it all the time, she made a southern version of okra and tomatoes, which is more sautéed with just peppers and onions, and we ate it over rice. So it was only natural for me to take another recipe and recreate it into something that I wanted to again and remember it’s of the recipe so my mom made in my household growing up. I have not had the Nigerian okra Soup. However, I’m going to try it before I leave.

    NW: What Nigerian delicacy have you tasted since you arrived that you have never tasted before?

    CMP: Well, one of the things I had here so far that I’ve never had before I’ve had the snails, which was a delicacy like we call it and it was very good. And it had a good ocean taste to it. So you knew it was fresh like wherever the purveyor wasn’t they got these snails from it tastes like the seas I knew it was fresh. It was absolutely delicious. This is my first time in Nigeria on the continent is Africa as a whole my first time here.

  • Alicia Keys wants hiring women to become the new standard

    Alicia Keys wants hiring women to become the new standard

    Alicia Keys has some serious thoughts when it comes to equality. The 38-year-old singer spoke about women’s representation in the entertainment industry while at the Billboard x Amex Impact Brunch on Thursday.

    While at the event, she kept it stylish in Michael Kors wearing a simple navy ribbed tank top and gold pinstripe pants with a gold chain hanging from the belt.

    ‘If I want to find a female lighting designer, how can I find that person? If I want to find a female sound engineer, how can I find that? If I want to find a female business manager or female lawyer,’ she said on stage while speaking with Billboard’s Gail Mitchell. ‘

    I think what happens is people get used to working with who they’re used to working with, and then you go and ask for a recommendation and they’ve been used to working with John for 100 years, so John gets recommended.’ She continued: ‘It’s not that Lucy or Terry shouldn’t be recommended, but we get into this systemic style of how we operate. We just get used to it, as opposed to starting to break it and think out of the box and be conscious about the choices that we’re making.’

    She went on to discuss the statistics of female artists and explained they women only make up 17% of artists in the Top 100 on Billboard this year.

    The “No One” singer called it ‘deep and disturbing gap’ and said ‘it’s really about all of us recognizing that when things are unbalanced they have to be rectified and corrected.’

    Alicia says she’s making a difference herself by employing woman and giving them the opportunity to make waves in their careers.