Nigerian Entertainment Tit-Bits  

Elizabeth Elohor

Search For Miss Nigeria 2013 Begins

Elizabeth Elohor

The 38th edition of Miss Nigeria 2013 is underway, and young ladies between the ages of 18 and 25 are expected to battle for the coveted crown.

Auditions for the pageant, which is organised by  DAAR Communications in collaboration with Beth Management Limited, will commence tomorrow and end on 30 March.

The auditions will be held in places like Port Harcourt, Enugu, Benin and Abuja, while the final casting will take place in Lagos.

At the end of the auditions, 36 contestants will emerge to partake in a two-week reality TV show, “THE MAKING OF A QUEEN”.

Eliminations will take place, after which 21 ladies will compete for one crown at the grand finale.

Elizabeth Elohor, the Managing Director of Beth said: “Our ultimate goal is to choose a queen based on elegance, poise, talent, intelligence and beauty. The winner will take home N3 million, a luxury car, full academic scholarship in Nigeria, an all expense paid trip and one year modeling contract.”

—Edwin Usoboh

Judges Pick Final 12 For Nigerian Idol 3

Femi Kuti, Yinka Davies and Jeffery Daniels, all judges of the Nigerian Idol reality television show gave their blessings to Moses and Dan while Abasiakan was the voter’s choice. Moses, Dan, Oweck, Modele, Abasiakan, Micheal and Okey Jazz were the seven contestants vying for the final three spots but only three really impressed the judges.

The final 3, Moses, Dani and Abasiakan

Having been eliminated previously, the seven contestants were given a second chance to redeem themselves in the Wild Card round. The Season 3 of Nigerian Idol has been intriguing so far, from dramatic splits to disastrous onstage melt-downs; it has been the most exciting season of the show.

As the lights dimmed, seven contestants stood on the stage knowing the next few minutes would decide whether their dreams would come true, or their hopes dashed. And with what was probably the biggest surprise of the evening, Abasiakan proved himself to be a quiet stunner as he won the voters pick. “I feel so big right now. I’m not going to let you down,” said an elated Abasiakan, who accompanied his good news with a nimble victory dance. Despite the joy, the mood dimmed as it fell to the host of the show Ill Rhymz, to hand out the bad news to the contestants  including, shockingly, Oweck, who had looked like a shoo-in after his last performance.

— Seun Bisuga

 ‘WED Expo’ll Be The Largest In West Africa’

Akin Eso

Having successfully pulled together all the best and brightest brains in the wedding industry under one roof last year, WED, Nigeria’s foremost wedding magazine, and organisers of WED Expo is set to stage a grand exhibition billed to be the largest exhibition in West Africa.

Speaking with P.M.NEWS Entertainment Café in Lagos, Akin Eso, publisher, WED and executive producer of the WED Expo, said they are leaving no stone unturned, as vital ingredients to pull a show stopping event that will linger in the memories of participants and visitors for a long time to come are  being put in place. “When you have an event as big as WED Expo you do not plan overnight. Our goal is to create a wedding city in those four days that the exhibitions will run, so we need proper planning. And I can guarantee you it will be a total experience,” Eso said.

Eso said the event holding between 21 and 24 March at the Landmark Village, Victoria Island, Lagos, will feature WED Awards designed to appreciate creative talents in the Nigerian wedding industry, Best of cakes competition for those into cake baking and decorations, and wedding fashion show, to showcase  different wedding designs.

It is also strategically designed to produce budding talents and professionals in the wedding industry, with educational and mentoring sessions by the industry bests including Tosan Jemide, Banke Meshida Lawal and Tsoule.

— Funsho Arogundade

Nigerian Broadcasters’ Night Berths

Denrele Edun

Organisers of Nigerian Broadcasters Merit Awards (NBMA) have concluded plans to hold the Broadcasters’ Nite aimed at celebrating the winners of the awards.

Kazeem Popoola, NBMA founder, said the new event is expected to further celebrate the achievements of the Nigerian broadcast industry as well as its brightest stars.

On the last Thursday of the month, he explained, one of the winners of NBMA will be hosted at one of the biggest clubs in the country. Popoola noted that beyond the celebration of the winner with music and comedy, the event will also have a red carpet reception and presentation of certificate to the winner.

“We are giving this monthly gig a national appeal by taking it round all the states so that NBMA winners from other states would have the opportunity to be celebrated right in the cities where they are popular. The Nigerian Broadcasters’ Nite will be loaded with surprises and an elaborate coverage by the media.”

The maiden edition of the event will hold on 23 February 2013.

— Bayo Adetu

BET Celebrate Chaka Khan, Others

Chaka Khan

An awards ceremony celebrating the achievements of distinguished African-Americans, The BET Honours will be aired on 16 February. BET Honours celebratesAfro-Americans in literature, entertainment, media, public service and education. Past honourees include Maya Angelou, Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Spike Lee, Jamie Foxx, Iman, Herbie Hancock, Whitney Houston, Queen Latifah and Sean “Diddy” Combs.

The event, to be co-hosted by Bad Boys II and City of Angels actress Gabrielle Union, will be aired at 11p.m on DStv Channel 135 and on GOtv Channel 22. This year’s awards recipients include Academy Award winning actress, Halle Berry, and ten-time Grammy award winner, Chaka Khan, who will be celebrating 40 years in music and entertainment this year.  Other honorees include music executive, film producer and entrepreneur, Clarence Avant, known to many as the “Godfather of Black Music”; four-time Olympic women’s basketball gold medalist, Lisa Leslie; and preacher/author, T.D. Jakes.

— Daniels Ekugo

U-Rap Competition Gets Underway

The first rap music reality television show is upon us. It is online/Youtube rap competition that would produce the best unsung rap star in Nigeria. The rap competition, U-Rap is open to all Nigerian rap artistes at home and abroad. With no age limit and sex discrimination, the competition will most likely be the most keenly contested music show.

The competition is powered and promoted by Ultima Limited, the content developer and producers of Project Fame West Africa that have discovered talents such as Iyanya, Chidinma, Myke, Praiz, and several others.

The promoters of U-Rap have identified that rap music is on a downward spin and have decided to resurrect it again in Nigeria. The objective of the show is to give talented Nigerians everywhere a platform to showcase their creativity, style and uniqueness.

The requirement for getting on the show is simple. A two minute video of the prospective rapper should be uploaded on video sharing website, Youtube. Participants can upload videos using iphone, GalaxyTab, Android and any other smartphones. Camcoders and other video sharing devices could be used as well. Videos must be uploaded to www.youtube.com/theuraptv but participants must first register on www.urap.ultimalimited.com.