Niniola Apata better known as Niniola is one of the female musicians currently dominating the Nigerian music airwaves with their hit songs. Before the glamour and glitz, the Maradona singer was moving from one music audition venue to another, striving to get an opportunity to get heard.

The svelte soulful singer recounted how persistence worked for her against all odds. In her words:” I went for the West African Idols and the judges were Dede Mabiaku, Dan Foster and a Ghanaian  singer. I sang my heart out, but two of the judges said ‘No’ to me. They said I had the passion but they still were not convinced that I was a good singer. I needed to be given two ‘Yeses’ from the judges but I got only one.

“I cried my heart out but I didn’t give up. I boarded a plane and I went to Abuja to audition for the same competition. I got to Abuja on Wednesday and I went for the audition on Friday. I was in front of the judges and they said to me,’ Is this not the girl from Lagos’? I was not allowed to audition. I cried and told them to show me where it is written that one cannot audition twice for a competition

“Dede Mabiaku stood on that with me and they agreed that I was going to be the last to audition. I waited till evening and was auditioned. I sang Celine Dion’s Kiss You like This. The Ghanaian lady gave me a Yes, Dede was proud of me, but Dan Foster was still not satisfied. I was moved to the next stage but was eventually dropped”.

When asked about what she learnt during that experience, she said:” I learnt to persevere, to be hardworking and to believe in God. When someone says ‘No’ to you, it’s an opportunity to keep working hard”.

source:http://www.thenewsguru.com/i-cried-when-i-was-rejected-at-west-african-idols-audition-niniola/