I had divine direction during Nigerian Idols — winner Kingdom Kroseide

Kingdom Kroseide, the winner of the sixth edition of the Nigerian Idol musical talent shows, says he got direction from God from his audition right to the end of the show.

Kroseide, who went through a months-long, gruelling competition with over 3,000 participants from across the country, was declared the winner. This was courtesy of a whopping 16 million votes cast for him and his closest rival, Francis Atela, by lovers of the programme. He went home with the prize money of 30 million naira, a new SUV, a six-track Extended Playlist (EP) recording agreement with three music videos, and vacations to Seychelles and Dubai.

Speaking to The Guardian on Saturday days after his victory, the 24-year-old explained that rather than let a mindset guide his stay in the competition, he allowed himself to receive divine guidance.

According to him: “I am a Christian. I came here with a direction and not just a mindset. There is a whole story about me even picking my audition song; that wasn’t the song that I wanted to do. Even while I was in the audition, I kept on realising that the songs I was picking were always working out; I was just being led.”

Divine direction

Kingdom believes he had divine direction from God. He continued: “I knew there was this driving force telling me to do these things a certain way. And I became successful. I wanted to win obviously and I had it in mind. But then, I just knew that there was a force I needed to follow to win.”

Speaking about the exact direction he got from God, the artiste, who has also received a scholarship from the government of Bayelsa State where he hails from explained: “When I saw that I had made it to the next stage and had to come to the auditions, I was confused about the song. I was led to pick the song, I Look To You, by Whitney Houston which I had tried to sing before.

“When I posted it on Instagram, people commented so well. I was like that is interesting. So, I was moved to use it for the auditions. I was contemplating it because it was like going to a secular competition to sing a religious song. But then Whitney Houston was quite popular. So, I tried it out.

“On that day, I was still contemplating, and knowing myself I would have changed my choice of song. While I was on the road heading to the auditions, that day, I saw a bus, which had the inscription “I Look To You” on it. Still going further, I saw the same inscription on another van. I was convinced that there was a divine direction to me using that song…”

Winning the competition

He described the day he was declared the winner of the competition as unforgettable. “It still feels like a dream, but then, we are living it. I thank God for everything. Every day, I keep thanking God for the new opportunity.”

The Bayelsa state musical talent also shared personal stories about his family life in the interview.

In his words, “I have a father, and he is my friend. My mum died at childbirth, so that is why I don’t talk about my mother that much. I have a family, and they are very good to me.” 

On whether he might consider gospel music as a means of expression given his Christian orientation, Kroseide answered: “I think I am going to create a balance. I believe music is a form of communication. I believe it is used for passing information too.”

Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri, on Friday, announced an educational scholarship for Kroseide. Diri, who made the announcement while receiving Kroseide and his team at the Government House in Yenagoa, also named him the state’s Youth Ambassador. 

He stated that the government will henceforth be responsible for the outstanding 24-year-old singer’s education at the Federal University, Otuoke, where he is a student, and up to the Master’s Degree level if he so wants.