A total of nine contestants, four from Akure and five from Ibadan, have made it to the quarterfinal stage of the ongoing Ariya Repete, a talent hunt competition for Fuji and Juju music in the South-West. The auditions that produced the winners held in Akure and Ibadan on April 19 and 21, 2017, respectively.

After a breathtaking audition that judged the appearance, composure, creativity, vocalization and stage craft of each contestant, seven Fuji and three Juju artistes were chosen from each city to compete at the selection party, where two winners emerged from each category in Akure, while three from Fuji and two from Juju emerged in Ibadan.

The Fuji artistes that were selected in Ibadan are Aliu Inaolaji, Taiye Akanji and Ashafa Olusila, while the Juju artistes are Oshinbanjo Gabriel and Wale Daniel. In Akure Oladele Damilola and Afolabi Ibrahim emerged from Fuji category, while Osadare Abayomi and Ojo Abiodun emerged from Juju category.

The artistes will compete at the quarter finals slated for June 30th in Akure with winners from other auditions in Ilorin, Ijebu Ode, Oshogbo, Abeokuta, Ado Ekiti and Ile Ife.

The semi-finals will take place on July 7th in Abeokuta with the grand finale scheduled for July 14th in Ibadan, Oyo State.

In the quarter finals, 32 artistes selected from the different locations would be reduced to 10 and this would be further pruned to five for the grand finale.

At the grand finale, a winner, each for Fuji and Juju will emerge with each clinching a grand prize of one million naira (N1, 000,000) and a recording deal.

Ariya Repete, an initiative of Goldberg, from the stables of Nigerian Breweries Plc is an expanded music talent hunt platform that seeks to promote and develop indigenous Yoruba music that includes Fuji and Juju music genres.

According to Emmanuel Agu, Portfolio Manager, Mainstream Lager and Stout brands, “the brand is using the new platform to extend its drive to discover new talents in the two indigenous Yoruba music genres and the move is in line with its commitment to promote the culture and tradition of the people of South West Nigeria.