Entertainment
The Voice Nigeria 3: How Darey Pushed Esther To Victory
The Voice Nigeria Season three came to a crescendo last Saturday night when 23-year-old Esther Benyeogo emerged as the winner of the music reality TV show.
With Esther’s victory at the keenly contested competition, Darey Art Alade has engraved his name on the list of the Voice Nigeria coaches whose talent emerged winners.
The journey to victory for Esther began with a blind audition that had a total of 32 talents performing to get the attention of any coach in order to get a turnaround.
In the third week of the show, Esther made her first appearance at the blind auditions. Her rendition of Andra Day’s ‘Rise Up’ erupted the first teary emotion on the show as coaches Darey, Waje and Falz turned to canvass for her acceptance into their teams. After her rendition of the song, Waje couldn’t hold back her tears as she got emotional and cried while heaping accolades and commendations on the graduate of the University of Benin.
Settling into Team Darey with Rachel, Ayomikun, Jeremiah, Blescene, and Dapo, Esther made no mistake of saving her powerful voice for the last round, she displayed her dexterity and brilliance from the knockouts where she was sent straight to the battles after her rendition of Westlife’s ‘Flying Without Wings.’
The Delta indigene didn’t settle for less as she conquered Jeremiah on the battlefield to qualify for the live show.
Her final performance at the grand finale elicited cheers and claps from the studio audience.
Though not new to winning singing competitions, Esther says, winning The Voice Nigeria 3 is special because she’s recognised for her singing abilities.
“I am grateful to The Voice Nigeria and my fans out there for this amazing experience. It has been my utmost joy to come on your screens every week and share my gift on such a huge platform. This win is even more special for me because it is one thing to know you have a gift, but it means everything to be recognised for that gift. I must however give thanks to God without whom I would not be here today and also appreciate my family and friends for their love, support, and prayers,” she stated.
With every of her step, Darey couldn’t help but shower accolades on Esther, who had won God’s Children Great Talent Season 7 contest in 2017 at age 19, after she emerged first runner-up in the Next Big Teen talent in 2012.
“Of course, I am thankful to my Coach, Coach Darey, for making my time here truly rewarding, and for equipping me with the skills to give this my best shot,” she said of her coach.
R&B star, Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, has recounted the early-career challenges she faced, revealing that she was once booed out of the stage while performing at a school event.
Speaking in an interview with Newsmen, the Crazy Tings crooner shared that she wasn’t only booed but was also harassed with plastic bottles.
“I remember one time I was going to perform at my school as an up-and-coming singer and I thought I was going to receiving a standing ovation.
“But I got booed. They even threw plastic bottles at me,” she recalled.
Tems explained that despite the embarrassing incident and other such rejections, she remained determined to pursue a career in music.
The Tide Entertainment reports that Tems admitted that some of the initial rejections she faced could be due to her conviction to stick to her originality instead of doing covers or familiar sounds like most of her peers.
The Grammy-winning singer said looking back now, she is glad that she didn’t compromise her style despite the initial pressures.
A close associate of late singer Mohbad, Primeboy, has appealed for the artiste’s burial nearly three years after his death.
According to him, Mohbad’s body remains in the mortuary since September 12, 2023, pending burial arrangements.
The Tide Entertainment reports that in a statement Primeboy urged the family, public, and government to permit the burial, stating, “It’s been almost three years since Mohbad left us. His body is still in the mortuary. I’m begging the family, I’m begging the public, I’m begging the government, please let’s bury our brother. He deserves a befitting burial.”
It would be recalled that Mohbad’s death sparked public outrage, protests, and investigations. Ongoing autopsy examinations, police inquiries, and legal proceedings have delayed burial arrangements amid family disagreements and public scrutiny.