Earlier in March, MultiChoice Nigeria announced the return of Nigerian Idol judges – Simi and D’Banj for a second season and Obi Asika and host IK Osakioduwa for a third time.

Now that the gang is back together for one more season, they’ll bring their expertise and experience to pull together a top 10 that will compete at the live shows. If their top 10 pick is as exquisite as last year’s when Progress Chukwuyem emerged as the winner, then fans are in for a great time.

Here are a few things we expect from the judges and host:

D’Banj is a certified superstar and a generally playful human. Last season, he added comic relief to the show with his constant chants of ‘Your face show, your shoe shine, your teeth white’. However, he has announced that he won’t say his usual catchphrase and will be more serious this season.

Still, we expect some comic relief, a lot of niceness to the auditioners, mesmerising accessories, some on-stage action and several arguments defending his favourite acts and trying to get them to the top 10.

Simi is sweet with most things except music, where she’s all business. Last season, she came correct with her criticisms for each talent, giving them clear guidelines to improve their work and occasionally bursting into songs alongside performers.

This season, we expect the judge to slay every look the way she did last year and give us the sweetest moments. Simi also never really knows how to hide her emotions when she’s loving or hating someone’s sound, so we predict she will have a lot of ‘meme-orable’ moments, and we are ready for it all.

Obi Asika is the glue that holds the trio of judges together. This season we expect him to bring his longtime knowledge of the music business to the show, as always. Longtime fans of Nigerian Idol will also expect to see Obi in many suits or native with gorgeous classic hats.

However, we anticipate he will shake things up a little more this season – from his fashion to his comments and playfulness. If there’s any judge most likely to be the loudest during the selections, it would most likely be Obi. As he said during the media event to unveil the new season, “Every single year, I’m upset that we left some people behind. It’s always a battle, but it’s also a pleasure.”

Last but certainly not least is IK Osakioduwa. The host extraordinaire is perfect for Nigerian Idol for many reasons, and it’s thrilling to see him return for a third consecutive season.

This year, we predict that IK will show off his vocal prowess a little more, crack up a sad auditioner that has just been cut and hold deep conversations with the talents on the Nigerian Idol extra channel (DStv ch. 198). IK will also bring his fashion A-game and entertain the live audience during commercial breaks with hilarious jokes.

All in all, this season of Nigerian Idol promises to be exciting and the best yet. As the Head of Content and West Africa Channels, MultiChoice, Dr Busola Tejumola, puts it, “Fans can look forward to a wide array of music and song choices across genres, spectacular performances, that together deliver a fantastic show.”

Catch the Nigerian Idol season 8 premiere on all Africa Magic channels on Sunday, April 23, at 7 pm. Enjoy non-stop auditions on the Nigerian Idol extra channel (DStv ch. 199 and GOtv ch. 49). Watch the show on Africa Magic Urban (DStv ch. 153 and GOtv ch. 6), Family (DStv ch. 154 and GOtv ch. 2) and Showcase (DStv ch. 151).