Ayra Starr, the Nigerian singer, shared her joy upon meeting the Barbadian superstar, Rihanna. She mentioned that she was taken aback by the fact that the Grammy-winning billionaire singer was familiar with her.
During a recent conversation with BuzzFeed, Ayra Starr revealed, “My most memorable celebrity encounter is with Rihanna. I had the opportunity to meet her around two weeks ago.”
“I went to the Authentic Woman event in London. It was amazing; I got to meet Rihanna. Do you know how crazy that is? And she loves me, she knew me that was the most amazing part of it. She knew me. It was so amazing.”
The “Rhythm and Blues” singer revealed how performing a cover song on social media helped her land the record contract.
According to Ayra Starr, her mother pushed her to make song covers, which shifted her focus from modeling to music.
“I wanted to do modeling because everyone told me I couldn’t do it like I’m not tall enough, and I told them, “Watch me.” And I ended up doing it. When I look back, I’m so proud of little Ayra, too.
It’s because of her that I’m here now. It’s because of that 16-year-old girl who didn’t give up and kept going. I used to do cover [songs] on Instagram. My mum and her friends used to force me to do covers.
I uploaded one cover on Instagram, I didn’t even like the video. But something just kept telling me to post it and I did. Not up to 6 hours later, Don Jazzy reached out. Three days later, he signed me.”
She added;“I’m an artiste to the core, and I want my style, my hair, my music, to represent how I feel. I don’t care about aesthetics, it’s more about how I feel. I’m not bothered about the male, or female gaze, or anybody’s gaze for that matter, except my own.
I’ve always had a mind of my own. Growing up in different places, in different cultures, has shaped my mind. And despite all these influences, I’m still myself. I wrote “Asé” when I was 15 — I had no business writing that song. So that gives you a glimpse of the kind of mindset I had at a young age.”
In another interview, she stated that she got into the university at the age of 14.
According to her, she obtained her degree early since her mother insisted on her graduation before pursuing her music career, and she aspired to be a teenage pop sensation.
She revealed this in a recent interview with the American media conglomerate Billboard News.
Starr recounted:
“I got into the university at 14. I feel like my mum has been using music to blackmail me since I was a child. She was like, ‘If you want to do music, you have to do this.’ When she suggested we relocate to Lagos from Benin Republic, I declined initially, but she convinced me that Lagos is the land of music.
“She insisted that if I want to do music, I would have to finish school first. Usually, a lot of people in Nigeria finish secondary school at 15, 16. I knew that if I waited till I’m 15 [before completing my secondary school], I won’t be able to be a teenage pop star. And I wanted to be a teenage pop star. So, I joined my elder brother and wrote JAMB, what you guys called SAT here.
“To be honest, the result wasn’t crazy to get me onto all these Ivy League schools but it was enough to pass by. It was enough for my mum. I got admitted into a good school. My course was for three years. It was International Relations. And immediately after my graduation, I started doing music covers online and that same year I got signed [to Mavin Records label].”
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