Sabi Girl With The Amazing Voice
Mavins Sabi Girl Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe (born 14 June 2002), popularly known as Ayra Starr, is a Beninese-born Nigerian singer. She attended Les Cours Sonou University and received a BA degree in international relations and “political science”. During her college years, she was often bullied by her classmates because of her age and appearance. To counter the feelings, she experienced from being taunted, Starr turned to music. “I would listen to “Nicki Minaj” on my way to school, and I’d feel like the second Nicki Minaj. Starr’s mother was very supportive of her musical ambitions, and always encouraged her to pursue a singing career.
She began a fashion career at the age of 16 with Quove Model Management before deciding to pursue a music career. After covering several songs by popular artists on Instagram, she posted her first original song on her page in December 2019. This brought her to the attention of record executive Don Jazzy, who signed her to his record label Mavin Records. She chose her stage name because, in her words, “it means woke and eye-opening and that’s what I stand for. She appeared in the music video for Eri Ife’s song “Dear Future Wife.” In December 2019, she uploaded an original song called “Damage” on her Instagram page. This was heard by thousands of people including label executive Don Jazzy and led to her first recording contract with Mavin Records.
On 11 July 2021, Starr performed for the season finale of Nigerian Idol. On 6 August 2021, her debut studio album, titled 19 & Dangerous was released. For the album, she worked with her previous collaborators Louddaaa and Don Jazzy, both of whom contributed production on her EP Ayra Starr, and new collaborators, London and Andre Vibez.
“Bloody Samaritan”, its lone single, became Starr’s first number-one single on the chart. The song climbed the Top 50 for several weeks, and, on the chart dated 27 September 2021, it reached the number one spot, making Starr the first female artist to do so with a solo single. She debuted on the Pandora Predictions chart, and on 28 August 2021, she ranked number two on Billboard’s Next Big Sound. She was featured on “In the Light”, a track on Johnny Drille’s Before We Fall Asleep. In September 2021, she was named brand ambassador for Pepsi Nigeria. The following day, Starr performed during a live eviction episode of Big Brother Naija. She collaborated with Cheque on “Dangerous”, the second track on his album Bravo. At the 8th African Muzik Magazine Awards, she was nominated for the Best Newcomer award.
