Kuchi kuchi Jodie steps out with African Woman.

SHE came to limelight in 2007, when she contested in the West African Idols, alongside talents such as Timi Dakolo, Omawumi Megbele, Temitayo George, Eric Arubayi and others.
Believed by many to be the strongest contender for the West African Idol title, Joy Odiete really had a lot going for her. She had the strongest and most dynamic female voice in the top 10, and she could take her songs to the limits others couldn’t.
During the competition, Jodie left no one in doubt of her musical prowess; she practically sang her heart out.
From her performance in the top 24 to her very last performance, she captivated the audience.
Recalled that Jodie was the first contestant to bring the judges (and the audience) to a standing ovation and she did this during two consecutive performances. In fact, by the time she made it into the top four of the competition, Jodie had become one of the favourites in the reality TV show that had viewers voting from different part of West Africa. However, the greatest shock came when the Delta State-native received the least votes and thus, her exit in the competition.
Emotions, however, poured in at the Planet One, Maryland, Ikeja, Lagos, where the show was recorded, as the petite singer took a bow, leaving Timi, Temitayo and Omawumi to slug it out in the grand finale.

BE that as it may, many had expected her to utilise her popularity in the show to break into the music industry, but that never happened. Just when her fans were asking questions about her whereabouts, Jodie, in 2010, dropped her first single, Kuchi Kuchi — a track that enjoyed massive airplay on radio stations. By the time the video was released, it became one of the popular music videos on the Nigerian airwaves.
At last, the soulful singer has completed work on her debut album, African Woman. Expected to hit music shelf in some few weeks, the album, which will be released under D.U.N Entertainment, has tracks such as Kuchi Kuchi, Under The Mango Tree, I Lost My Mind, African Woman, Fighter and others.
“I’m so glad; I can’t believe this is happening to me. I’m very excited about this because this is my debut album. After Idols, I went to Awka, Anambra State for my NYSC. I believe this is the best time for this album; I’m not regretting the years that passed. To me, it brought out the best of me.”
Asked why the long delay, Jodie said, “I’ve actually been recording, but wasn’t satisfied with what I had then. I never wanted to release this work until I met my manager, who saw reasons with me. I’m happy with what’s happening to me now; I’m not in competition with anybody.”
On the album title, the singer explained, “we went through a long debate on the title. At first, we wanted to call it Jodie, but later we decided to call it African Woman. It is an album that celebrates the African woman and the decision for the change was taken towards the end of the production.”
In the track, I Lost My Mind, she said, “it’s sometimes difficult dealing with issues around us. Somehow, I was able to capture the situation around me in this song.”
Though a baby song, Kuchi Kuchi, the baby-inspired Zouk song, which was produced by Phat-E, has become a symbol of love among young Nigerians.
“It’s a song that expresses love from a mother to a child, but today, people use it on their wedding days and I think it’s all about love.”
A video for Kuchi Kuchi was released in February 2011, which attracted four nominations in the Nigerian Music Video Awards, 2011, for Best Indigenous Concept; Best Use of Costumes; Best Highlife Video; and Video of the Year.
J’odie carted away two awards out from the four nominations: Video of the Year and Best Highlife Video.

BORN June 22, J’odie is a young soulful singer from the Niger Delta region of the country, with a personality that exudes African freshness and originality. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication from the University of Lagos, Nigeria; a Certificate in Entrepreneurial Management (CEM) from the Pan African University; and a Basic Leadership Certificate. She was nominated for the Nigerian Entertainment Awards (NEA) in the Indigenous Artiste of the Year category at the September 2011 Awards.