Senior Pastor, RCCG City of David Parish, Pastor Idowu Iluyomade (left), Chairperson, GCGT Board of Trustees, Pastor (Mrs) Siju Iluyomade, GCGT Season 7 Winner, Esther Benyeogo, Mrs. Doreen Wigwe and CEO Access Bank/ Founder, The How Foundation, Dr. Herbert Wigwe at the grand finale of God’s Children Great Talent in Lagos.
After weeks of battling with other contenders in the season seven of the God’s Children Great Talent (GCGT), 19-year old singer, Esther Benyeogo, has emerged the winner of the talent hunt show. She emerged during a live television broadcast of the grand finale staged at Eko Convention Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The talented singer received the show’s grand prize of a N250 million management contract, 10 million naira cash and a brand new Kia Rio. Senior Pastor at City of David Parish, Pastor Idowu Iluyomade, Chairperson, GCGT Board of Trustees, Pastor (Mrs) Siju Iluyomade, Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank and Founder of The How Foundation, Dr. Herbert Wigwe, presented prizes to the winners.
Esther Benyeogo beat 9 other finalists, Joseph Odi, Damilare Bafunso, Anderson Peter, Deborah Oladipupo, Olawonuola Kehinde, Sophia Albert, Goodluck Enoch, Nengi Jaja and Emmanuel Osahor in a keenly contested final that saw a display of exceptional showmanship on stage.
However, to viewers, who followed the reality show, Esther’s emergence did not come as a surprise. A fans’ favorite, she has been a standout phenomenon on the show since her very first performance and through the entire competition. Now as this season’s winner, Esther Benyeogo’s career is about to take off with the GCGT team providing close guidance.
The two-hour live television broadcast on HIPTV, EbonyLife TV, Wazobia Max and Dove TV last Saturday night was the final performance of the season and last chance for the final ten contestants to enchant the judges and audience with their performances. It also featured highlights from the season’s auditions as well as performances by Nikki Laoye, GCGT season 6 winner Onome Enakerakpor, Darey, Frank Edwards and Enitan Adaba.
The winner’s selection was a combination of GCGT7 judges’ scores and audience votes for Esther Benyeogo to emerge victorious.
An emotional Esther was grateful for how far she has come giving all glory to God for being so faithful. “The journey has been long. Weeks of practice and focus but in the end, it is has been a blessing to remain in God’s grace. I thank the Almighty God for helping me express my talent through GCGT and more importantly, making my light shine among thousands. Here I am, standing.” A cheerful Esther said.
The past weeks on God’s Children Great Talent have shown us raw talent refined into a skill, despair turned into hope with performances that blessed hearts. A representative of the City of David Parish Pastor (Mrs) Sola David-Borha revealed, “Together we have sung, danced, laughed and loved every moment of this season. We appreciate the support from The
How Foundation, media partners, viewers and members of the production team for a successful season.”
God’s Children Great Talent, Africa’s biggest gospel talent show will return in 2018 for Season 8 discovering new talents between ages 5 and 20 years to be nurtured for God’s glory.