Six Nigerian breakout stars, viral sensations of 2018

In 2018, some unknown faces became stars on the cyberspace while others saw their fame grow, all thanks to social media.

There were some like Mr Spellz who became an accidental celebrity and Davido’s girlfriend who became a ‘star’ after he featured her in his ‘Assurance’ video.

As part of PREMIUM TIMES’ End of the Year review, in no particular order, we serve you six of these stars who trended this year and caught our attention.

1. Teni Entertainer

If sex appeal was all it took to become a superstar, then rave of the moment, Teni Entertainer, would remain a promising star for a long time.

Rather, the 26-year-old singer announced her arrival in the Nigerian music scene in 2017 with nothing but talent, spontaneity, originality and her hit single ‘Fargin’.

She would later attract widespread acclaim after it was discovered that she penned Davido’s hit, ‘Like Dat’.

2018 has so far proven to be a defining year for the chubby singer.

Since winning the 2018 Headies ‘Rookie of the year’ award, she has churned hit after hit like ‘Askamaya’, ‘Fake Jersey’, ‘Case’ and most recently ‘Ugo Meyo’.

And of course, she has headlined several concerts in Nigeria and overseas.

From sharing one-minute clips of herself on Instagram, and covering popular songs, Teni, has so far proven that she is indeed a bona fide star.

2. Mr Spellz

Dede Nne a.k.a Mr Spellz became an accidental celebrity after his ‘spell Buhari’ video went viral.

Rather than make him an object of ridicule, Nigerians on social media added several creative spins to his incorrect spellings. Beatmaker, Paul Cleverlee, took it a notch higher when he came up with a mashup song to the viral spelling song.

He added a fusion of Don Jazzy’s voice, Mr Spellz comic spelling and partly Speed Darlington’s tag. The result was an instant hit.

Consequently, the song has been dominating the iTunes Nigeria top 100 songs since November when it hit the store.

The Mr Spellz has also been totally repackaged by singer, Sexy Steel, who ensured that he performed at comedian, Whale Mouth’s show in Lagos in November.

3. Taju

Back in June, five-year-old Taju went from not knowing anything in English but his name, to become a viral sensation on the internet. His journey to fame began after comedian, Ladimeji Azeez, aka Elamefa, shared a video of the young lad on Instagram.

Although the video was posted for the fun of it, in a matter of minutes, it got Nigerians on the internet asking questions. The questions ranged from, ‘Who is Taju? Where can we find him? to How can we send Taju to school? Celebrities like AY, Don Jazzy, Mo Abudu and Falzthebahdguy also took an interest in his case and began pledging to donate to his cause.

Actress, Funke Akindele recently announced that Taju has been given a better life and has been renamed Opeyemi.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BpzTe5alO5-/?utm_source=ig_embed

4. Picazo Rhap

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Teenage rap star, Picazo Rhap, shot into prominence after a video of him free styling to viral song, “Able God” went viral on in October. In the clip, the teenager is seen giving his best rap performance in his ethnic language, and it stirred hearty reactions on social media, with many people requesting for his details.

Davido and Olamide finally noticed Picazo, who has been busy releasing song covers and freestyles on his Instagram handle. But it was Olamide that ‘grabbed’ him first and signed him to his YBNL records.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo7X_VPgU1Y/?utm_source=ig_embed

5. Charles Okocha

When Nollywood actor, Charles Okocha, put up a comedy skit tagged ‘I deserve some accolades’ on Instagram on April 9, little did he know that it would go viral.

Nigerians immediately jumped on the trend and gave it their own interpretations.

The actor, who is popularly called Igwe 2pac, became highly sought after globally with the likes of American rapper, 50 cents identifying with the trend.

Today, the Nollywood actor, who has been around since 2011 currently boasts of 1 million Instagram followers.

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A post shared by Igwe 2pac (@charles_okocha)

6- Chioma Avril

Davido’s girlfriend, Chioma Avril went from ‘nobody’ to ‘somebody’ after the former featured her in the video of his much-hyped song titled ‘Assurance’ in May.

The song was an ode by the singer to his girlfriend.

The Omo Baba Olowo’s (OBO) generosity to his new girlfriend, reached another level when he presented her with a N45 m Porsche on her birthday almost immediately.

‘Assurance’ has since become a buzz word.

Today, Chioma commands has more than half a million Instagram followers with a cooking show in the works.