Historical entertainment retrospective — researched 6 November 2026. This newly written account revisits the Access The Stars finale of 11 April 2020. The phrase “for grabs today” belongs to the original historical headline; the competition is not open for entry today. FlyingEze's original publication timestamp has not been established.
On Saturday, 11 April 2020, Nigeria's Access The Stars music talent competition reached its first grand finale with an advertised prize package valued at ₦150 million, including a new car and a talent-management contract. The show moved its finale online amid COVID-19 restrictions, and singer Charles Akinloye, known as Loven, emerged as the winner.
That is the event behind the lost FlyingEze headline, “N150m, car for grabs today — The Sun Nigeria”. The Sun's original report was published early on 11 April 2020, before the winner was known, and announced that the grand e-finale would be broadcast on YouTube. A 17 April follow-up by the same newspaper , alongside reports by The Nation and The Guardian , confirms Loven's victory.
The ₦150 million figure requires care. Contemporary coverage sometimes called the prize “₦150 million” while also listing a car and a management deal. Other accounts clearly described ₦150 million worth of prizes. The itemised cash payment, vehicle valuation and contract valuation were not independently audited in the available reporting. Accordingly, this retrospective treats ₦150 million as the advertised value of the overall prize package, rather than asserting that Loven received ₦150 million in cash in addition to a car and contract.
What was Access The Stars?
Access The Stars was a music talent-discovery project introduced in October 2019 by Access Bank Plc and Nigerian Breweries Plc, through its Star-branded music platform. The ambition was to identify promising performers from different parts of Nigeria and offer them a route from local auditions towards national visibility, professional mentorship and potential career support.
In its original partnership announcement , Nigerian Breweries described the venture as a combination of talent identification, training and performance opportunities. The organisers drew on earlier initiatives such as Star Quest, Star Music – The Trek and the Born in Africa Festival, and proposed access to established performers alongside competitive auditions.
The programme's promise was larger than a single televised concert. Contestants were meant to develop their stagecraft, show versatility, learn from experienced artists and compete through multiple rounds. As a partnership between a bank and a brewing company, it was also a branded entertainment project, so claims about the benefits and value of its rewards should be understood in the context of organiser promotions.
How did musicians qualify for the finale?
The search ran through six audition cities: Abeokuta, Lagos, Abuja, Calabar, Onitsha and Owerri. Regional judges screened applicants, after which selected performers faced celebrity judges and performed at concerts associated with the competition. An additional online opportunity brought a wildcard contestant into the process.
Contemporary March 2020 reporting describes performers being selected on qualities such as vocal ability, originality, versatility and creativity. Judges associated with the programme included singer Seyi Shay, choreographer Kaffy and producer Tee-Y Mix. Musician and presenter Darey Art Alade and broadcaster Olive Emodi were involved in presenting and hosting roles.
After regional selection, 13 contestants were reported to have entered the Lagos bootcamp: two selected from each audition city and an additional online qualifier. They received training and took part in performances that tested both teamwork and individual stage presence. Not everyone progressed. The competition narrowed its field as the April finale approached.
What happened during the bootcamp?
Contestants encountered the practical demands of performing under pressure: rehearsing, working with other singers, adapting songs and responding to judges' criticism. The show also brought in established Nigerian artists to advise its emerging performers.
In early April 2020, singers Waje and Sound Sultan took part in mentoring sessions. A 4 April account in The Guardian described how they encouraged contestants to interpret songs personally and to work effectively in duet performances. The judging process eliminated Sly Wonder, Olutunz, Mimi Victor and Gabriel Songz at one stage, leaving a smaller group to compete for the title.
By the last stages, names including Loven, Kitay, Firefly and Ada Gold featured prominently in reports about the finalists. Some stories discuss six contestants remaining after a particular elimination round, while coverage of the actual e-finale describes four final performances. Those references concern different stages of the process and should not be treated as mutually exclusive lists of a single round.
Why did the final move online?
The decisive challenge emerged as COVID-19 restrictions disrupted public gatherings and entertainment in Nigeria. Large live events were no longer straightforward to stage, and the producers chose to move the final presentation to digital platforms rather than cancel the competition.
The 11 April Sun report explicitly promoted a YouTube stream for that Saturday's final. Later coverage in The Guardian detailed a hybrid online experience using YouTube and Instagram Live. It was an example of entertainment organisers finding ways to reach viewers when normal audience gatherings and concert formats faced public-health restrictions.
The alteration matters historically. This was not a competition originally conceived as an entirely remote show: it had already toured several Nigerian cities and trained contestants in person. The April finale demonstrated how a traditional talent search could switch its last public-facing event to a livestream under exceptional circumstances.
It would be misleading to describe the digital finale as taking place because the pandemic had ended or because public live shows had returned. Its format was a direct response to restrictions that made conventional staging more difficult.
What was the advertised ₦150 million prize?
Before the finale, the promotional descriptions mentioned cash, a brand-new car and a talent-management contract. The 11 April preview in The Nation and the original Sun report used the ₦150 million figure prominently to explain why the contest had attracted attention.
The most careful financial description is “a prize package advertised as worth ₦150 million.” For example, BellaNaija's 15 April winner announcement and The Guardian's 18 April account describe the total as prizes worth ₦150 million. This wording differs from suggesting a bank transfer of ₦150 million plus additional rewards.
Neither the original news preview nor the accessible follow-up accounts provides an independently verified breakdown of the amount paid in cash, the exact car model and retail price, or the contract's conditions and deliverables. The distinction is relevant to the reader because a long-term management agreement can be assigned a promotional value without representing immediate spendable income.
This is also a closed historical competition. Registration links, voting instructions or prize offers circulated in 2019 and 2020 should not be presented as live opportunities today. The headline's word “today” refers only to 11 April 2020.
Who won the April 2020 finale?
Charles Akinloye, performing as Loven, was announced as the winner on 11 April 2020. He was described in several contemporary accounts as a singer-songwriter who also worked as a makeup artist and stylist. He had participated in the Lagos auditions and attracted attention for a style that incorporated elements associated with fuji music.
Reports such as The Nation's 15 April story identified one of his existing songs as Adunni. Nigerian Tribune and Independent likewise recorded his win shortly after the digital finale.
Kitay and Firefly were identified as the first and second runners-up in multiple winner reports, with consolation prizes awarded. Contemporary coverage generally agreed about Loven's victory, although some secondary accounts diverged when describing all finalists and places. This reconstruction preserves the corroborated winner and runners-up without inventing detailed scores or judging calculations.
Being announced the winner was a documented achievement. What is not established by these sources is that every element of the promotional prize was immediately disbursed, that the management deal guaranteed specific future earnings, or that Loven subsequently achieved any particular chart ranking. Those would require independent later records.
Who performed during the digital grand finale?
Accounts of the 11 April broadcast describe a programme organised across social channels. A pre-show party hosted on Instagram Live featured DJ Spinall. The main final was streamed on YouTube, with performances by the remaining contestants and appearances involving Kaffy and Darey. Afterwards, DJ Cuppy hosted an Instagram Live after-party.
The sequence is documented in BellaNaija's post-finale account and The Guardian's retrospective . These records confirm the broad format but do not supply an audited total of viewers or an independently verifiable ballot count. It would therefore be inappropriate to claim a specific television rating or voting margin without a primary record.
The choice of digital channels was especially notable in April 2020. Instead of treating the loss of a conventional physical audience as the end of the show, organisers tried to recreate the anticipation of a final through performances, online viewing and social interaction.
What role did Access Bank and Nigerian Breweries play?
Access Bank and Nigerian Breweries were the commercial backers of the event. Their collaboration combined the bank's existing entertainment initiatives with Nigerian Breweries' music promotion activities around Star. As described in Nigerian Breweries' launch announcement , the businesses said their aim was to discover and develop emerging performers while bringing Nigerian artists to broader audiences.
The corporate context explains why the reward included a management component rather than only a one-off cash award. The programme sought to link a public talent search with the commercial and professional infrastructure that may be needed to launch a music career. Nevertheless, promotional promises should be kept separate from independently measured career outcomes.
Its sponsorship also places Access The Stars alongside other Nigerian talent and music shows supported by consumer brands and commercial partners. Those projects can provide exposure, but the long-term success of a winner depends on many factors beyond a televised title: artistic development, recording quality, management, distribution, audiences and sustained work.
Why the 2020 digital final remains historically interesting
The episode offers two different stories in one. The first concerns talent discovery: artists auditioned around the country, received mentoring and competed for a major advertised prize. The second concerns adaptation during a public-health emergency: a television-oriented music competition converted its climactic event into an online show rather than relying on a conventional concert audience.
It is tempting to use the grand-prize figure as the entire story. But the combination of regional auditions, bootcamp, mentorship and the last-minute shift to online presentation explains more about how the contest functioned. It also makes the achievement meaningful beyond the announcement that one participant had won.
FlyingEze's later coverage of Nigerian Idol's 2021 judging and presenting line-up offers an editorial comparison with another Nigerian music talent programme; it is not evidence about Access The Stars. FlyingEze has also reported Zlatan Ibile's later account of using a car won at a separate talent competition , illustrating why prizes can matter to emerging artists without implying that Zlatan participated in Access The Stars.
Timeline of Access The Stars and the ₦150m headline
- October 2019: Access Bank and Nigerian Breweries launch Access The Stars as a talent-discovery programme.
- Late 2019–early 2020: Regional auditions take place in six Nigerian cities, followed by selection for the bootcamp.
- March 2020: Television episodes and additional competition rounds bring the contestants to wider public attention.
- Early April 2020: Mentorship, judging rounds and eliminations narrow the field as pandemic restrictions affect events.
- 11 April 2020, morning: The Sun promotes the planned online finale and the advertised ₦150m prize package, car and management opportunity.
- 11 April 2020, finale: Charles Akinloye, known as Loven, is named winner of the first season.
- 12–18 April 2020: Nigerian news organisations publish winner reports and reviews of the digital presentation.
Frequently asked questions
What was the ₦150m car giveaway reported by The Sun Nigeria?
It was the grand prize offered through the Access The Stars music reality competition. The original Sun article appeared on 11 April 2020, the day of the finale.
Who won Access The Stars in 2020?
Charles Akinloye, professionally known as Loven, won the inaugural edition on 11 April 2020.
Did the winner receive ₦150 million in cash plus a car?
Reports described an advertised package worth ₦150 million involving cash, a car and a management contract. The accessible source record does not independently establish a ₦150 million cash transfer plus separate additional prizes.
Who were the runners-up?
Multiple contemporary accounts named Kitay and Firefly as the first and second runners-up.
Why was the final shown online?
COVID-19 restrictions complicated normal live events. Organisers used YouTube and Instagram Live to present the final and associated programming.
Can people still enter the competition described in the headline?
The reported finale took place in April 2020. This retrospective does not establish any current registration, voting process or prize offer.
Conclusion
When The Sun Nigeria reported that a ₦150m prize and car were “for grabs today”, it was referring to 11 April 2020, the day Access The Stars completed its first season online. The programme brought together a nationwide talent search, commercial music sponsorship and an improvised digital finale during the early COVID-19 emergency.
The winner was Loven, also known as Charles Akinloye, while Kitay and Firefly were reported as runners-up. The carefully supported financial description is a grand-prize package advertised as worth ₦150 million, not an independently verified cash payout of that amount. That clarification preserves both the excitement of the original story and the accuracy required of a historical reconstruction.
Editorial disclosure: This is an original FlyingEze historical reconstruction researched from the original Sun Nigeria preview, the organisers' launch announcement and dated independent winner reports. It is not a copy of the missing FlyingEze article. The original FlyingEze publication date remains unknown. The accompanying image is an AI-generated editorial illustration and does not depict the actual winner, car or programme stage.
