Entertainment
Why Timaya Wept At PH Concert
Timaya was crying, in
front of 20,000 people at the Joseph Yobo Mini Stadium in Port Harcourt. Timaya, recently the strident, swaggering dancehall superstar, bent his knees and shed some tears. Naturally, some people thought such a sudden outpour of emotions was unseemly for someone of Timaya’s stature. To many others, however, it was just the perfect treat. Crying in front of thousands of fans who have come to watch you entertain them was a special gift, they reckon. It’s nothing to be embarrassed by at all.
Timaya’s stunt on this particular night became the icing on an already good cake for Legend and it made the stories from that gig even more sharable. These stories are about unpretentious. The beer brand has come a long way from these hard-core leather-jacket-slinging adverts it used to run on TV. These days, it looks like it is embracing its growing popularity among an aspiring urban crowd whose reality is anything but fake.
Legend is doing less of the macho club swash buckling it tried so hard to own before and more of a down-to-earth “Original Naija’ tone of voice. This may be because another brand already does something not so different from that but what’s currently good for Legend is the fact that public reactions to its new strategy suggest that its advertising campaign Real Deal Experience concerts, and other properties in the mix are making the desired impact on the intended audience.
Timaya, you see, was not making a mess of himself in front of total strangers. He was at home with his own people and sharing his unfettered emotions with them was a way of showing them how much he trusted them and how grateful he was to them. Indeed we are talking about a great crowd here, not a handful of close neigbours but those are the words he used.
“I always love performing in Port Harcourt”, he said after the show. It brings back so many memories and the crowd tonight was spectacular. They made me feel at home. Almost like I never felt. His success, he explained, could be credited to Port Harcourt. It is the ‘town most instrumental in shaping my early days,’ he said and promised to ‘give my people every thing they want and more. If I don’t do this for them who else would, I do it for?, Timaya stated.
As he said that, the crowd cheered him on and that was the moment that Legend won the evening. Even if the brand had paid for a night to remember, it couldn’t have engineered this priceless outcome. The star and his fans were in harmony. Legend could simply take that night, stick its logo on it and run it as an advert.
‘The Real Deal Experience is about making people appreciate realness and authenticity. Bring fans face to face with one of their favourite music superstars is a very engaging way of putting across this message, said Oluseun Lawal, brand manager, Legend.
The concerts have now held in four locations: Lagos, featuring Oritefemi at Okokomaiko, Onitsha featuring KCee at Ekwulobia Township Stadium, Port Harcourt, starring Timaya at the Joseph Yobo Mini Stadium, and Ibadan headlined by 9ice at Cultural Centres, Mokola. At each of the venues, the ravers sand performers appeared to be relating like old friends.
Spotify yesterday revealed a significant surge in heartbreak song streams in Nigeria during the Valentine’s Day season, with a 626 percent increase between 2022 and 2024.
This was disclosed in a statement issued in Lagos, Nigeria by Spotify’s Head of Music, Sub-Saharan Africa Phiona Okumu.
Okumu said, “Spotify data reveals a surprising trend, a massive surge in heartbreak song streams.
“Nigerians are turning to their playlists to express their emotions, with a staggering 626 per cent overall growth in heartbreak streams from 2022 to 2024.
“This Valentine, the sound of love is accompanied by the sound of heartbreak, and the data shows it’s louder than ever before.”
She said on Valentine’s Day, most surprisingly, male listeners streamed heartbreak songs at a significantly higher rate than female listeners, with a 362 per cent increase compared to 169 per cent among women.
“This could suggest that men resonate with the feeling of heartbreak more and turn to music as a private outlet for processing emotions.
“Whatever the reason, one thing is clear, when love is in the air, so is heartbreak and Nigerian men are pressing play on their pain more than expected.
“While Valentine’s Day is often celebrated with grand gestures, heartbreak is a common theme on Valentine’s Day -more than what’s publicly shown,” she said.
Nigerians will join their counterparts across the world to mark the 2025 Valentine’s today.
Grammy-winning Nigerian singer Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, has joined MLS side San Diego FC’s ownership group as a club partner.
SDFC announced today that Tems joined the ownership group through her company, The Leading Vibe.
In the process, Tems became the first African woman to be involved in MLS ownership.
“We are delighted that Tems has joined San Diego FC as a club partner,” SDFC chairman Sir Mohamed Mansour said in a statement.
“Tems is a globally significant artist who will help us reach new audiences and spread the word about our unique project, which, of course, has its foundations in sub-Saharan Africa through the unique Right to Dream organisation.”
Reacting to her addition as the latest partner in SDFC’s ownership group, the singer said: “I am thrilled to join San Diego FC’s ownership group and to be part of a club that celebrates creativity, culture, and the power of community.
“Football has a unique way of bringing people together, and I am excited to help build something special in San Diego, a city that thrives on diversity and innovation.”
Fashion and beauty entrepreneur, Toyin Lawani, has claimed she is enduring back pain and that her spine is degenerating.
Lawani revealed this in a video posted on social media last Tuesday.
In the clip, she opened up about her experience with epidural anesthesia, an injection administered to pregnant women in the spine to reduce pain during childbirth.
The mother of three claimed that since receiving the injection, she has not felt like herself.
She accused doctors of not fully informing women about the long-term side effects of epidurals.
According to Lawani, she received the anesthetic injection during the birth of her last two children.
She said, “When you hear ‘epidural,’ run. Doctors tell you about the side effects but do not tell you about the long-term effects on your body. I have about three friends having the same issues that I am having.
“Like, I am just 42, how did I end up with spine issues? I have a degenerating spine. I have implants in my spine. I go paralyzed. I can’t stand for a long time. I can’t even breathe properly sometimes because it affected so many things in my body when I had the surgery.
“They will not tell you because you just want the pain to go away. I have had two epidurals. I had my first as natural birth. The last two were epidural. The last one I had epidural because I had to undergo a surgery and I had no choice.
“See, the pain does not stop. My back is killing me and my spine is degenerating.”