The Nigerian Idol Season Eight (8) judges have selected the top 10 best-performing constants after a strong battle by contestants across the country.

The live show sponsored by Multi Choice will begin on Sunday, May 28, 2023, after a fierce battle and the final judgment of Theatre Week.

The judges during the last day of Theatre Week picked 10 contestants out of 29 talented singers who have what it takes to perform live for the audience’s votes.

Although it was a mix of emotions as contestants strived to bring their A-game while delivering the performance to secure their place to compete in the top 10, criticism has trailed the selection of these singers who will feature in the live show.

The top ten contestants emerged after a fierce battle, starting with thousands of hopefuls that subsequently dwindled to hundreds before getting to the last ten.

The 10 contestants who earned a spot after the battle are Blossom, Abraham, Quest, Chisom, Savvy Henry, Constance, Precious Mac, Victory, Ose Daniel, and Goodness.

The audience will decide on Sunday who makes it to each week of the competition and who eventually becomes the winner of the edition.

However, fans of the show have raised concern that one of the judges, Simi, has been oppressing other judges with her biased judgment.

The eviction of the twins has continued to cause controversy, as some viewers of the show were convinced that they would make it to the top 10.

The Daily Post observed that both Obi and Dbanj had similar opinions on artists who were not to be evicted, but Simi’s judgment wrongly overshadowed theirs.

This led to a social media outcry.

Here are some comments from the Daily Post gathered from Facebook:

Lovelyne Balogun Momodu, ”I noticed that the people that Simi likes always tell them, I love the way you sing; I just love your voice." They all make it; who else noticed? So the bottom line is that only Simi gets the final say in all this matter, which is not supposed to be.”

John Kennedy Chiagozie, ”Congratulations to them, but I must be honest with you: the idea of using the same judges on every season is building nepotism and monopolies.

“Some participants that did so well, especially in duet, will be sent home, while the obviously poor performer will be absorbed for reasons best known to the judges, especially Simi. Her ideology of judgment is unprofessional; she allows her emotions to judge rather than her logical acumen.

Sm Frdy: ”I feel like Simi’s judgment on the Nigerian Idol show is very biased sometimes. If you’ve noticed, she seems threatened and intimidated by good singers with the potential to be better than her. It’s almost like seeing budding stars scares her about the future. Nigerian Idol is nothing to write home about in terms of verdicts from the judges. Most of the time, it feels like they judge based on their emotions at the moment rather than professional conduct.

”If you’re a lady who sings better than Simi, you are in trouble. If your voice is soft and mild and able to hit high notes like hers, she already likes you. And if you’re a good-looking guy, fresh from the oven, but unable to sing that well, don’t even bother yourself because Simi will give you a straight pass after eyeing and lusting after you all through your performance.”

Apeks Ugee, ”I wasn’t happy. Iyanu was better than most of the top 10 there. I think Simi needs to clear her view well on the selection process.”

Lovelyne Balogun Momodu said, ”Mina (one of the twins) deserves to be in the top 10, even Obi and Dbanj said it, but because Simi did not agree,he was sent home.

“His performance was top-notch; it’s still painful that beautiful talents that were supposed to be in the show were sent home.”

Chinonye Bacelia Offor, "Shebi, you people complained of Sheyi Shay last year because she was laughing at singers who performed awfully. Now, they’ve given us Margaret Thatcher, AKA Madam, I’m too hard to impress, AKA Simi. I miss Sheyi Shay; she was better; at least she gave fair judgments.”

Ngozi Joy Michaels: ”Simi is causing more harm on this show. She’s sending professional singers home and choosing her favorite. She doesn’t know we are watching her. Say no to Simi next season. IK, please take note.”

Astral Hopelyn, ”Simi is making this season annoying; she is always negative with the best singers and keeps people who should have left.”

Ponfa Mamshal said, ”90% of the judges verdict is so terrible and unprofessional. Simi is a no for me this season. Always making me angry. She negatively influenced Obi and Dbanj with the spirit of "following on whatever she says, whether true or false.”

A music producer in Abuja told the Daily Post that Simi is wrong and is over-showing judgments that started right from the theatre week, adding that failure by both Dbanj and Obi to stand their ground gave room for continuous suppression of the other judge.

Abel Moses said, ”From my observation, I think there is a reason why Simi has a stronger voice among the three judges.

”First, as a lady, the other two are a bit careful. They don’t want it to look like they are pushing her. Again, she is a professional singer. I think she studied music-related courses, so the other two will always respect that, plus the fact that she is a good singer.

”The third aspect is the fact that maybe the organizers may have divided their roles, and it seems Simi is stronger when it comes to the actual singing. She must have been given the task of judging the voice. Maybe Obi and Dbanj have minimal roles to play in the aspect of voice. One takeaway is that the outcome of the entire show will be a verdict on the performance of the judges.”

Many have alleged that some of the judges have their candidates in the show and, as such, threw out good voices for their candidates in the top 10.