The return of the fourth season of Big Brother Naija to our screens could not have come at a better time for all of us, within a year of unprecedented change to almost every aspect of our lives, having a show like BBNaija to unite viewers nationwide every day has helped make restore a sense of community and togetherness that seemed lost in the efforts to socially distance this year. What was once a reality tv show regularly consumed in Nigerian households has now seemed to gain more momentum or at least that’s what I’ve gathered from every corner of my Twitter timeline.

For five weeks, we’ve collectively raved about Kidd being the season’s heartthrob, Laycon being the typical representation of a Nigerian guy to the ridiculous strictly Indomie diet the housemates seem to be on. However, much of the show’s entertainment rests on the daily sponsored challenges played by the housemates. This year so far we’ve seen the housemates compete in uniquely curated games revolving around the brand sponsorship from brands like Betway, Indomie, Hawaii, Airtel, Dulux, Guinness, and more.

Although I’m a passive watcher of Big Brother, watching mainly from my timeline or logging onto a few hours at a time when I can spare, one of the most exciting challenges I am glad to have been able to watch is the ‘Pepsi Know Lyrics Challenge’ held yesterday. The duet singing competition involved the housemates singing and performing a song from the lyrics of Pepsi brand ambassadors Wizkid, Tiwa Savage, Tekno, Davido, Burna Boy, DJ Spinall and Cuppy.

Performance competitions are only as good as those performing them, so I wasn’t expecting much as the housemates only had a couple of hours to learn, practice, and memorise lyrics and a catchy dance routine. During the practice, I had my bets on Erica and Neo winning as they were performing Burna Boy’s “On The Low” and their gusto and salacious dancing looked like first place material. However, their killer moves during practice didn’t really translate during the main event, the singing was off-key for them and many of the housemates who seemed to have a hard time delivering at the same tempo as the song’s instrumentals.

Wathoni and Laycon’s performance of Wizkid’s “Fever” was also a bit cringey, I know getting into character is important but Laycon was a little too into character for me but the worst had to be Kiddwaya and Lucy taking over the stage for Cuppy and Tekno’s “Green Light”, not only did Lucy forget the lyrics but she had a whole angry match just before her performance and that really hurt their chances (not that Kidd’s adorable dancing did them any favours).

Despite all this, it looked like a close tie between Ozo and Trikeytee’s performance of “Duro” and TolaniBaj and Vee’s performance of Dj Spinall’s “Baba”, but after a brief pause for the premiere of Burna Boy’s fourth studio album ‘Twice as Tall’ (we love to see it), Ozo and Trikeytee emerged as the winners of the competition.

As the days become numbered and the stans grow more tiresome (we’ll talk about that another time), Big Brother seems like anyone’s prize to win at the moment– even TrikeyTee who always seems to escape eviction every single week. So in the mean time, I’ll be here rooting for my girl Erica (and maybe Kidd).

You can catch up highlights from the Pepsi challenge here.

Featured image credits/BBNajia

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