DELTA State born singer, songwriter and performer, Victory Gbakara has emerged the winner of Nigerian Idol Season 8.

Following weeks of performances by the top 10 contestants, Nigerian Idol Season 8 came to an end on the evening of Sunday, July 17 with Gbakara clinching the esteemed title ‘Nigerian Idol’ after beating his strongest rival, Precious Mac, to the top prize.

Following the victory, Gbakara secured exciting prizes presented by the Executive Head, Content & West Africa Channels, MultiChoice Nigeria, Busola Tejumola including a cash prize of N35 million, a brand new SUV, an all-expense-paid trip sponsored by Tecno, a Bigi-branded refrigerator and a year’s supply of refreshing Bigi drinks.

Also, he was bestowed with a record deal, accompanied by a music video shoot. Furthermore, he received a year’s supply of WAW detergent and a fully installed DStv Explora with a premium subscription for a duration of 12 months.

Final performances

The evening kicked off with a joint performance from the host, judges, and top 10 Nigerian idols as they sang ‘Hall of Fame’, a 2014 song by the Star of Copenhagen, Switzerland. 

Then Precious Mac performed ‘Rockabye’ by Cleabandit. This was followed by performances from other Nigerian artistes including Fave, Johnny Drille and the Nigerian Idol Season 7 winner, Progress.

Thereafter, Victory Gbakara performed ‘Locked out of Heaven’ by Bruno Mars. The two top finalists performed ‘Stay’ by Rihanna, the final performance before the winner was announced.

As earlier reported by The ICIR, Nigerian Idol has been providing a platform for many talented singers to launch their careers and gain recognition in the Nigerian music industry.

The winner of this year’s edition had said winning the competition will give him an excellent platform to grow and move his music career to the the level.