How old is peter okoye

Nigerian singer and actress (born )

Musical artist

Deborah Oluwaseyi Joshua (born Oluwaseyi Joshua; 21 December ),^[5][6] known professionally as Seyi Shay (pronounced Shay-yee Shay), is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and actress.

In , she became the lead singer for the now defunct pop girl group From Above. The group signed a recording deal with Columbia Records and was managed by Mathew Knowles' Music World Entertainment company.^[6] In November , Shay signed an endorsement deal with telecommunications service provider Etisalat.^[7][8] In July , she inked a recording contract with Island Records, and signed a two-year endorsement deal with Pepsi that same year.^[9][10] In November , Shay released her debut studio album Seyi or Shay, which was supported by the singles "Irawo", "Ragga Ragga", "Right Now" and "Murda" (featuring Patoranking and Shaydee).

In January , Shay signed a publishing deal with the French division of Universal Music Publishing Group.^[11][12]

Life and career

– Early life, career beginnings, songwriting, and record deal with Flytime

Oluwaseyi Joshua was born and raised in Tottenham, England, to Nigerian parents.^[13] Her deceased mother was a chorister and her father is a native of Ife.

Shay has an elder sister and two older brothers; her sister composed songs for the BBC and one of her brothers was a prominent club and radio disc jockey. She and her siblings were raised by their single mother. Shay grew up in a Christian home and often felt like a loner during her adolescence. She started visiting Nigeria when she was two years old and eventually attended the Command High School in Maryland, Lagos.^[14] She returned to London and performed with the London Community Gospel Choir during their world tour, which included 13 cities in Japan.^[15] She studied music business management at the University of East London and graduated with a bachelor's degree with honours.^[1][15][16] In an interview with This Day's Lanre Odukoya, Shay said her mother wanted her to become a doctor or lawyer and wasn't a staunch supporter of her musical ambitions.^[15] Her mother eventually told her to focus on her music career and put God first.^[14]

Shay's music career took an upswing when she signed her first ever record deal with No Apologies, a record company affiliated with George Martin, who was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle".^[15] In , Shay formed a girl band in the UK called Boadicea; they were managed by Ron Tom, the founder and manager of All Saints and Sugababes.

The band separated after two years, and Shay decided to audition for the From Above singing audition. She was chosen as the lead vocalist for the female group From Above after the audition. The group signed a record deal with Mathew Knowles' management company after performing for him, and were taken to Houston to undergo energetic vocal and dance trainings.

They supported Beyoncé while she was in the United Kingdom for her I Am World Tour.^[14] From Above presented the Best New Act award to Bruno Mars at the MTV Europe Music Awards and had their own reality show called Breaking From Above, which aired in over countries around the world.^[17][18] The group later disbanded and Shay had an opportunity to continue her management deal with Mathew Knowles, as well as secure a recording contract with Sony.

Shay has worked with a number of musicians, including Justin Timberlake, Brian Michael Cox, Darey, Bilal, Michelle Williams, Chip, Rob Knoxx, Harmony Samuels, and Cameron Wallace.^[6]

Shay wrote and produced three songs for the soundtrack to Konami's video game Crime Life: Gang Wars ().^[19][20] She also wrote "You Will See", a song that was included on Melanie C's third studio album Beautiful Intentions ().

The song was written and produced by Del B. Shay joined her secondary school choir and started performing at 6. She and her siblings were raised by their single mother. She went back to London to complete her undergraduate studies, where she also attended and graduated from the University of East London with a BA in Music business management.

Moreover, she wrote "White Lies", a song from Chip's album Transition ().^[19] Shay was introduced to Sound Sultan during his visit to London in After listening to some of her demos, Sultan convinced her to relocate to Nigeria and pursue a music career there.^[1][21] Shay was also introduced to Cecil Hammond, who signed her to his record label, Flytime Music, and launched her solo career in Nigeria.^[6] In , Shay left Flytime Music and told Vanguard that she joined the label to promote her brand and still has a good relationship with people at the label.

She also said that while signed to the label, she was very much in control of her brand.^[21]

– Seyi or Shay, Electric Package, notable performances, and concert residency

On 11 August , Shay released "Loving Your Way" and "No Le Le", two promotional singles that helped launch her music career in Nigeria.

In , she started recording her debut studio album, Seyi or Shay, and worked with producers such as Jay Sleek, Tee-Y Mix, Del B and Cobhams Asuquo.^[22][23] On 27 July , Shay released the album's lead single "Irawo", which was produced by Del B and originally titled "Erawo".^[24] Shay said she wrote "Irawo" to inspire her colleagues and workmates to pull together.

The song's music video was directed by Clarence Peters and uploaded to YouTube on 3 June , at a total length of 3 minutes and 47 seconds.^[25] The remix of "Irawo" includes a rap verse by Vector and was released on 6 December ^[26]

Shay performed at the COSON Song Awards.^[27] In May , she told Odukoya that she recorded a song with Olamide; the track was written by the rapper and scheduled for release in Shay claimed that Olamide's work ethic made working with him simple.^[14] Shay has been featured on songs released by several artists, including Praiz, Mr.

Walz, Yung Grey C, and Amir.^[28] In July , she performed at one of Big Brother Africa 8's live eviction shows.^[29] Shay played at the edition of Star Music Trek in Asaba on 20 July ^[30] In August , she released the album's second single "Killin' Me Softly", which features vocals by Timaya and was written and produced by Del B.

In an interview with Vanguard's Kehinde Ajose, Shay said she felt in love with the song when she first heard it and reached out to Timaya for a verse because she wanted a different vibe on the song.^[21]

On 27 September , Shay performed at the Sisters with Soul concert, which was headlined by Mary J. Blige.^[31] On 6 October , she released "Ragga Ragga" and "Chairman" as the album's third and fourth singles, respectively.^[32] Both songs were produced by Del B.

The latter track features vocals by Kcee, who was present during the song's composition.^[21] Prior to releasing the two singles, Shay signed a partnership deal with the talent company J-Management.^[33] On 20 November , she and Wale performed "Bad" at the Johnnie Walker Step Up to VIP Lifestyle Launch event.^[34] Shay was a supporting act on the Hennessy Artistry Club Tour.^[35] In December , she gave a performance at the Harp Rhythm Unplugged concert.^[36]

On 8 January , Shay released the music video for "Ragga Ragga"; it was filmed in Lagos and directed by Peters.^[37] At Darey's Love Like a Movie concert on February 15, , Shay shared the stage with Kelly Rowland, D'banj, Tiwa Savage, Mo' Eazy, Zaina, Timi Dakolo, Waje, Muna, JJC, and Eva Alordiah.^[38] "Ragga Ragga" peaked at number 7 on MTV Base's Official Naija Top 10 chart for the week of 15 March through 19 March ^[39] On 1 April , Shay released the Dokta Frabz-produced single "Murda", which features additional vocals by Patoranking and Shaydee.^[40] In a review for Jaguda, music crtic Aribaba awarded the song a rating of 9 out of 10, commending Shay for using a familiar line.^[41] On 11 May , the music video for "Murda" was uploaded to Vevo; it was directed by Meji Alabi for JM Films.^[42] Shay released her debut studio album, Seyi or Shay, in November On 22 April , she released the music video for the song "Pack and Go", which features Olamide and appeared on Seyi or Shay.^[43]

On 10 January , Shay released the single "Yolo Yolo", which was produced by DJ Coublon.^[44] The song's music video was directed by Meji Alabi and released on 20 March ^[45] It was nominated for Best Music Video at The Headies "Yolo Yolo" appeared in a Baileys commercial that aired in Sub-Saharan Africa.^[46] In March , Shay announced on Instagram that she was awarded a concert residency at the Canary Wharf in London.

The two-night event was held on 29 and 30 May ^[47][48] That same year, Shay released the Runtown-assisted track "Gimme Love", which won Best R&B Single at The Headies She also released the remix of "Gimme Love", which features vocals by Teyana Taylor.

–present: Nigerian Idol, Aristokrat Group, and Universal Music France

On 2 February , MultiChoice Nigeria appointed Shay to serve as judge on the sixth season of Nigerian Idol.^[49] During the show's audition in March , Shay was criticized for comments she made about Mayowa "Tohrus" Odueyungbo, who was one of the contestants.^[50] On 29 March , television host Frank Edoho criticized all of the judges for their remarks.^[51] Shay responded to the criticism on Twitter, saying: "I'm feeling like #JudgeJudy right now.

You either love her or you hate her, and that's quite alright! either way, thanks for the #1 trend".^[52]

In June , Shay signed a management deal with Aristokrat Records.^[53] In , she inked a publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group and Aristokrat Publishing.^[11][54]

Artistry and role models

Although her musical style is primarily a combination of Afropop and R&B, Shay doesn't conform to a particular genre of music.

She believes that her musical prowess covers different genres, and has stated that her music draws from things that inspire her. Shay has cited her mother, Mathew Knowles, 2face Idibia, Beyoncé, Tina Turner, Sound Sultan, Wizkid, and Omawumi as mentors.^{[15][17][21][55]}

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Selected singles

As lead artist
Year	Title	Album
	"Loving Your Way"	Non-album single
	"No Le Le"
	"Irawo"
	"Irawo" (Remix) (featuring Vector)
	"Chante" (featuring Ajuju)
	"Killin' Me Softly" (featuring Timaya)
	"Chairman" (featuring Kcee)
	"Ragga Ragga"
	"Murda" (featuring Patoranking and Shaydee)	Seyi or Shay
	"Crazy" (featuring Wizkid )
	"Jangilova"
	"Right Now"
	"Pack and Go" (featuring Olamide )
	"Ko Ma Roll" (featuring Harmonize)	Non-album single
As featured artist
Year	Title	Album
	"For You" (Praiz featuring Seyi Shay)	Non-album single
	"Paradise" (Mr Walz featuring Seyi Shay)	Walz Have Ears
	"Get Down" (Yung GreyC featuring Seyi Shay)	Non-album single
	"Yarinya" (Amir featuring Seyi Shay)
	"In Love" (Wizkid featuring Seyi Shay)	Ayo
	"Sugar" (Ayoola featuring Seyi Shay)	Non-album single
	"The Motion" (DJ Lambo featuring Seyi Shay, Cynthia Morgan & Eva Alordiah)
	"Only You (Remix)" (Nikki Laoye featuring Seyi Shay)
	"Celebrate" (NC Dread featuring Seyi Shay)
	"Yalla Habibi" (Ragheb Alama featuring Seyi Shay and Costi Ioniță)
	"Bia"	Electric Package
	"Alele" (featuring DJ Consequence and Flavour N'abania)
	"By Gones" (Navio featuring Seyi Shay and Sheila Way)	Strength in Numbers

Selected videography

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links