Nigeria 
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Ayra Starr has quickly risen as a prominent voice in Afrobeats, blending R&B and alté influences with impactful songwriting to achieve global recognition, including a Grammy nomination for her hit single "Rush."
Nigerian singer-songwriter Ayra Starr signed a management deal with Jay-Z's Roc Nation to expand her global Afrobeats music reach and boost her international presence. This partnership provides her with substantial infrastructure to fulfill her ambitions as a global pop artist.
In September 2021, Ayra Starr was announced as a brand ambassador for Pepsi Nigeria. This endorsement highlights her growing commercial appeal and status within the Nigerian music scene.
Sarah Oyinkansola Aderibigbe, known as Ayra Starr, was born on June 14, 2002, in Cotonou, Benin, and grew up between there and Lagos, Nigeria. Both her parents are from Kwara State, Nigeria, and her upbringing in a music-loving family significantly influenced her path. She began writing songs with her brother at age 10 and, despite being encouraged to complete her education first, her passion for music led her to pursue a career in the industry. After modeling for various companies from 2018, she started posting song covers online in 2019. An original song uploaded to Instagram that year, “Damage,” caught the attention of Mavin Records executive Don Jazzy, leading to her first recording contract with the label.
Starr officially launched her music career in early 2021 with the release of her self-titled debut extended play, “Ayra Starr.” This EP quickly rose to become the number-one album on Nigeria iTunes and Apple Music, accumulating over 15 million streams across platforms. Its lead single, “Away,” peaked at number four on Nigeria’s TurnTable Top 50 chart and number 17 on the US Billboard Top Triller Global chart. This success propelled her into the mainstream, and later that year, her debut studio album, “19 & Dangerous,” was released. The album’s lead single, “Bloody Samaritan,” made history by reaching number one on the TurnTable Top 50, making Starr the first solo female artist to achieve this milestone. In August 2021, Billboard ranked her number three on their Next Big Sound chart.
Her international breakthrough came in 2022 with the release of “Rush,” a track from the deluxe version of “19 & Dangerous.” “Rush” charted in multiple countries, including the United Kingdom where it peaked at number 24. The song became the most streamed solo track by a Nigerian female artist on Spotify and made her the youngest African female artist to surpass 100 million views on a single YouTube video. This achievement earned her a nomination at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards for Best African Music Performance. In 2024, she released her second album, “The Year I Turned 21,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Nigerian Albums Chart and entered the Billboard 200 at No. 195, marking another significant milestone as the first Nigerian female artist to achieve this.
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