Seyi Shay is one of the top female artistes in Nigeria and holds a respectable position even among artistes of all genders. She is beautiful but it is her talent behind the mic that has made the name Seyi Shay a most valuable brand.
Seyi Shay was born Deborah Oluwaseyi Joshua on 21 December 1985. She was born in the United Kingdom of Nigerian parents. You might be aware of these. How much more of the star do you know? Here are all the facts about the star summed into five sizzling things.
1. Men see her as a sex symbol
If you are a man, as long as you know the name Seyi Shay, you have considered her a sex symbol at some point in your life whether you remember doing so or not, whether you have actually done so or not does not count, you are a man. Guilty, as charged. Or, at least, that is how the artiste implied it.
In an interview with Kemi Lawal of Punch Newspaper in early 2013, Seyi Shay was asked the cause of her success. She attributed it to four things. One, hard work; two, experience; three, God. Then she crowned her list by saying: “I am a female, but men will always see me as a sex symbol.” Suggesting that this is why she was an easy sell on stage. “There is a lot of sexism and bias in the industry,” she, however, lamented.
2. Seyi is from a family of entertainers
Shay is a singer; a songwriter who has written lyrics for Konami’s video game, Chip, Melanie, Columbia Records, etc. She is also a producer. She is gifted. This seems to be in her blood as her family is made of music stars. Her mother was a chorister, Shay had a sister who composed songs for TV and a brother who was a DJ.
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Though she is from an entertaining family, her mother was not very keen about her taking music professionally, at first. But on her deathbed, she had a few words for her daughter. Put God first and do your music in Nigeria.
3. Seyi Shay was established in the UK
You might have only recently heard of Seyi Shay when she arrived in Nigeria, leading people, in some quarters, to say, Sound Sultan discovered her. This might be akin to Mungo Park discovering the Niger that has been among Nigerians for centuries. Seyi Shay met Sound Sultan in 2011. Before now, she was aware of her talent and had already been part of music groups and endeavors in the UK; the London Community Gospel Choir been the most notable. She had toured Japan and Europe and America (with Matthew Knowles and sometimes with Beyonce in their entourage). She was a member of the musical group, Boadicea, a group so popular they had a reality show, “Breaking from Above”, showing on MTV to 166 countries.
How did Sound Sultan discover someone who had been in the industry for so long and had worked with a name so famous? While Seyi was singing in the UK, very few were aware of her in Nigeria. Her relocation to Nigeria was a blessing and Sound Sultan played a major role in making that happen. There is also a special sentiment to this regards, as her mother’s last wish on earth just a day before she passed away was for her daughter to return to Nigeria.
Seyi Shay met Sultan in early 2011 and he helped convince her to return home.
4. Seyi Shay says she is done acting
She is beautiful, she has a voice of gold, she has strong name recognition and following, all the kind of assets many producers will kill for. So Seyi Shay found herself on the set as the lead character of Lara Giwa in the film, “Lara and the Beats” which hit cinemas in July 2018. “This is very special for me,” Seyi said after shooting the video directed by Tosin Coker and produced by Tolu Olusoga for Biola Alabi Media.
While Seyi is proud of her performance in the star-studded film that has Chioma Chukwuka, Uche Jombo, Chinedu Ikedieze and DJ Xclusive, she told The Sun Newspaper that she won’t do it again. “I was a bit worried about spending so much time outside the music scene,” she said, adding that, “I had to leave my singing career for about a month and I lost some shows.”
The singer recounts how she had moments of regrets on the set of the movie. After sighing and heaving about her future as a thespian, she suggested she might do it again with the Biola Alabi production. Her last word but a contrast of the implications of her earlier words.
5. Seyi Shay eats anything
She has a good figure for video and dreams. She should be starving, you say. Far from it, she isn’t. There is no beauty routine for the diva, at least not when it is related to food. “I eat anything I like,” she told Punch. Her reason is simple: “Food is meant to be eaten.” How does she keep the junks off her system? She goes to the gym and works it off, she says. When she has time.
In the end, there is one conclusion, Seyi’s body can be counted among her many gifts.
