Once upon a time, a little girl from Isale Eko dreamed of becoming a star, and guess what? She did it!
Tiwa Savage is currently one of Africa’s biggest music artistes, but her journey to stardom did not happen overnight.
She moved to London from Nigeria with her family at the age of 11 and grew to establish herself as a background vocalist who worked with the likes of Mary J. Blige, Chaka Khan, Andrea Bocelli, and several others. She also proved herself as a songwriter, until she returned to Nigeria determined to step into the spotlight as a solo artiste.
The singer hit the Nigerian music scene in 2010 with the release of her chart-topping song ‘Kele Kele Love’. In 2012, she became known as the Mavin First Lady after signing with the record label. She released her debut album Once Upon A Time in the following year and it hosted hit tracks like ‘Eminado’, ‘Without My Heart’, ‘Ife Wa Gbona’, and several others.
With her breathy voice, catchy tunes, and sultry dance moves, Tiwa’s popularity has grown steadily bigger over the years. In an undeniably male-dominated space, she has carved out a throne for herself and crowned herself queen.
Besides the many awards and accolades Tiwa Savage has received, she became the first African woman to receive the ‘Best African Act’ award at the MTV European Music Awards in 2018. In 2019, she signed a deal with Universal Music Group (UMG) to ensure that her music would be distributed in over 60 countries. She was also featured on Beyonce’s Lion King: The Gift compilation album in the same year.
More recently, she won the ‘Most Popular Musician’ (Female) and the ‘Most Searched Musician’ (Female) award categories in the 2020 edition of the NET Honours People’s Choice Awards.
Despite being a talented artiste, Tiwa has had to deal with the downsides of being a star in a way that her male counterparts have not. Still, she has weathered through seasons of faithful and fickle fans, endured comments on her personal life, fashion choices, and has continued to work hard on her career, while using her voice to speak for causes she believes in.
If Tiwa came into the Nigerian music scene like a breath of fresh air ten years ago, it’s safe to say that today, she has become a cyclone – a veritable force of nature to be reckoned with.
Tiwa turned 40 in February 2020, but it is evident that she has no plans of slowing down any time soon.
The little girl from Isale Eko dreamed of becoming a star, and she did it in grand style.
Writer: Ukpebor Efe