Celebrities Who Rose To Fame On The Wings Of Reality TV (Part II)

Last week we made a list of Nigerians who have become famous and successful in the entertainment industry, having featured on reality TV shows. This week the list continues.

DARE ART-ALADE

Born to the legendary Nigerian Jazz pioneer, Art Alade and Olapeju Alade, Dare (popularly known as Darey) has been performing in clubs and events since the age of 15, but his big break came during the 2004 edition of Project Fame, where he came in third place. The reality TV contest held in South Africa but broadcast all over the continent. He soon after signed his first recording contract with Sony BMG Africa. He has since released 4 studio albums and 18 singles. His hit songs “Not The Girl”, “Escalade”, “The Way You Are” and “Pray For Me” have won multiple awards at the Channel O Music Video Awards, All Africa Music Awards, Award for Musical Excellence in Nigeria (AMEN) and 2009 Nigerian Music Video Awards, Darey was the main host of both the Gulder Ultimate Search, Glo Naija Sings, and Project Fame West Africa.

TIMI DAKOLO

Timi is a product the 2006 West Africa Idol reality show. He auditioned in Calabar and was among the finalists selected for the live show. He went ahead to become the winner of the music reality show, having secured the highest number of votes throughout the three weeks the show aired. He released “There’s a Cry”, his first studio song in 2011, and has had 1 album and several singles ever since.  He was one of the judges and a coach in the 2017 edition of The Voice Nigeria TV reality show, which saw one of the contestants in his team, Idyl, win the competition. He still sings in his church’s choir.

KCEE

Kcee and his singing partner, Presh, sang as a duo for more than a decade in obscurity before they participated in, and won, the 2002 edition of Star Quest TV show. The duo split in 2011, each going solo with their music career. Kcee is perhaps most popular for his hit song, “Limpopo”, which won the Song of The Year, and Producer of the Year awards at the Headies in 2013, as well as the Most Gifted Dance Video at the Channel O Music Video Awards in the same year. Kcee has several endorsement deals, which include multi-million naira endorsements signed with telecommunications company MTN in 2013 and 2015, Magnum Cream Liqueur and Western Lotto.  He also owns his own music recording label and is a Peace Ambassador Of The Federal Republic Of Nigeria. According to Nigerianarchives.com, Kcee’s net worth was over ₦900 million as at 2016.

O.C. UKEJE

You may know O.C Ukeje as an actor, but he is also a musician and model. He achieved prominence after winning the Amstel Malta Box Office (AMBO) reality show. He has been involved in more than 20 movies till date and has won several awards which include Africa Movie Academy Awards, Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards, Nollywood Movies Awards, Best of Nollywood Awards, Nigeria Entertainment Awards and Golden Icons Academy Movie Awards. He has featured in a number of award-winning movies including Two Brides and a Baby, Hoodrush, Alan Poza, Confusion Na Wa and Half of a Yellow Sun.

PRAIZ

Praiz became a household name after emerging second runner-up at the first ever Project Fame West Africa. Although the competition was won by Iyanya, he became one to reckon with in the Nigerian music space. In 2012 he released Rich and Famous which got a great review and massive airplay. Priaz is a brand ambassador for MTN Nigeria and was a brand ambassador for telecoms giant, Etisalat, earlier in 2012. He has about 15 singles, 1 double CD album and several awards to his name and is still a very active player in the industry.

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This article was first published on 6th April 2018

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