Chidinma

Chidinma Ekile (born 2 May 1991), known professionally as Chidinma, is a Nigerian hip-hop turned gospel singer and songwriter. In 2010, she rose to stardom after winning the third season of ''Project Fame West Africa''. Following the release of the music video for her "Emi Ni Baller" single, she became the first female musician to peak at number 1 on the MTV Base Official Naija Top 10 chart.

In 2011, she released the Sound Sultan-assisted single "Jankoliko". Her eponymous debut album ''Chidinma'' was released through the music platform Spinlet; it was supported by the singles "Jankoliko", "Carry You Go", "Kedike" and "Run Dia Mouth". The album features guest appearances from Sound Sultan, Tha Suspect, Olamide and Muna. Chidinma won Best Female West African Act at the 2012 Kora Awards and performed "Kedike" at the dentist ceremony. She recently signed with Eezee Concept, with the release of a gospel song as a kingdom woman, titled "Jehovah Overdo". Chidinma Ekile's latest album is Holy (mimo mimo)

Early life, educational pursuits, and public image

Chidinma Ekile was born in Ketu, Kosofe, Lagos State to parents originating from Imo State. She is the sixth of seven children. Chidinma grew up with a disciplinarian father and began singing at the age of six. When she was 10 years old, she joined her church's choir. She also started her acting career by featuring in 2017 movie ( The bridge movie) directed by Kunle Afolayan.

Chidinma attended primary and secondary school in Ketu before relocating to Ikorodu with her family. She worked as a business promoter in Lagos prior to auditioning for the third season of ''Project Fame West Africa''. Chidinma wanted to study mass communication but ended up attaining a sociology degree from the University of Lagos. Chidinma initially declined her admission to the University of Lagos due to her advancement in ''Project Fame West Africa''. In an interview with '' YNaija'', she said she has always taken school seriously and her decision to enroll at Unilag was inevitable. She also said music wasn't always on her agenda, but decided to give it a try after winning the music competition.

After dying her hair red and getting a mohawk, people started perceiving her as a good girl gone bad. In an interview posted on the '' Daily Independent'' website, Chidinma said she is still the same and that she's evolving and growing as a musician.

True to her words, Chidinma transitioned into the Gospel Music Industry after she was signed by Eezee Conceptz, a top gospel producing agency

Music career

Project Fame

Before auditioning for the third edition of ''Project Fame West Africa'', she dreamt of being part of the reality television show. With the help and support from her close knit friend, Chidinma left her home in Ikorodu and went to Ultima Studios. She was among the eight thousand contestants that went that year to showcase their talents. Subsequently, Chidinma joined 17 other contestants in the Fame Academy round. For 10 weeks, Chidinma and the other contestants were coached by musical professionals: voice coaches, inspirational speakers, established musicians, and music business service providers. Moreover, contestants were taught choreography and several rehearsal drills. Chidinma was announced as the competition's winner on 26 September 2010. She won a number of prizes, including ₦2.5 million, a 2011 Toyota RAV4, and a production deal. In May 2013, Chidinma signed an endorsement deal with MTN Nigeria.

2011–2012:''Chidinma''

Chidinma started working on her eponymous debut studio album ''Chidinma'' after releasing a collaborative project with other season 3 finalists. The album was scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of 2011. Chidinma spoke about the album briefly and said she put a lot of energy into it. She worked with a number of producers, including Cobhams Asuquo, Tee-Y Mix, WazBeat and Oscar Heman Ackah. She released the Sound Sultan-assisted single "Jankoliko" and "Carry You Go" on 22 February 2011. Both songs were written and produced by Oscar Heman Ackah. In an interview posted on the ''Weekly Trust'' website, Chidinma said she was pleased with the positive response she received after the songs were released, and is working hard to improve her craft. On 4 June 2011, Chidinma released the Clarence Peters-directed music video for "Jankoliko". On 11 October 2011, she released "Kedike" as the album's third single. The song translates to "Heartbeat" and was produced by Cobhams Asuquo. In an interview with ''Entertainment Rave'', Chidinma revealed she and her producers invented the song's name and further said it depicts love. The Clarance Peters-directed music video for "Kedike" was released on 24 January 2012. Nigerian singer Dammy Krane played Chidinma's love interest in the video. On 11 October 2011, she also released the album's fourth single "Run Dia Mouth".

2013–2014: Standalone releases

On 14 September 2012, she released the Illbliss and Tha Suspect-assisted single "Emi Ni Baller". The song was produced by Legendury Beatz. It peaked at number 7 on ''Vanguard''s list of the Top 10 songs that made 2013. The official remix for "Emi Ni Baller" was released on 22 February 2013. It features vocals by Wizkid and was also produced by Legendury Beatz. Capital Dreams Pictures released the music video for "Emi Ni Baller" on 12 June 2013. It was shot and directed in the U.K by Clarence Peters. On 10 June 2013, Chidinma released three singles: "Bless My Hustle", "Kite" and "Jolly", all of which were produced by Tha Suspect, Del B and Wizzboy, respectively.

On 14 September 2013, Chidinma released "Oh Baby". Its remix was released on 29 January 2014 and features vocals by Flavour N'abania. Both songs were produced by Young D. On 2 May 2014, Chidinma released the music video for "Oh Baby (You & I)". It was directed by Clarence Peters and stars Ngozi Nwosu and OC Ukeje.

One of Chidinma's most recent hits is "Fallen In Love" which was released in 2017. Its video currently has 101 million views on YouTube.

Notable performances

Chidinma performed with Dr SID at the MTN Power of 10 Concerts, a ten-city tour that celebrated MTN Nigeria's ten-year anniversary; the tour kicked off in Makurdi on 9 September 2011. Chidinma was one of the supporting acts on the 2013 Hennessy Artistry Club Tour headlined by D'banj. On 3 November 2013, she performed at the Guinness World of More Concert alongside P-Square, D'banj, Wizkid, Ice Prince, Burna Boy, Olamide, Phyno, Waje, Davido and Tiwa Savage. On 9 November 2013, Chidinma performed with Blackstreet at the Butterscotch Evening Experience, a concert held at the Eko Hotels and Suites. On 14 February 2014, she performed at the MTN Valentine Rave Party, alongside Tiwa Savage, Mario and Sound Sultan. Chidinma has performed in several countries in Africa, including the Republic of Benin, Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Cameroun, Equatorial Guinea, Niger and Ghana.

Acting Career

Chidinma started her acting career by featuring in a 2017 movie, The Bridge (2017 movie) directed by Kunle Afolayan.

2021:''Chidinma becomes Gospel Artiste''

After a very long absence from the music scene, Chidinma Ekile reappeared again in May 2021 but this time to celebrate her 30th birthday, sharing photos of herself on Instagram. She expressed regrets wasting over 9 years doing secular music, noting that her sudden switch to gospel music was fueled by a new encounter with God and understanding of her Christian faith. To announce her arrival into the Nigerian gospel music scene, Chidinma released her debut gospel single titled, 'Jehovah Over Do' on Sunday, May 2, 2021.The New Season EP consist of 6 tracks and a bonus (making 7 in total) was released on August 23, 2021.

Accomplishments and musical influences

Chidinma won Best Female West African Act at the 2012 Kora Awards. Her award plaque was presented to her by Didier Drogba. She toppled Omawumi and five others for the honour. After winning the award, Chidinma said, "It was a huge honour to me. I’m grateful to God, my fans and people, who have been part of my success story. Winning KORA is a big achievement for me and I know it is the beginning of better things to come." Chidinma has cited Michael Jackson, Bob Marley, Alicia Keys, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Fela Kuti, Omawumi, Onyeka Onwenu, Lagbaja and Darey Art Alade as her biggest musical influences.Molpe

company that specialize in sanitary pad makes Chidinma its brand ambassador in April 2019.(https://punchng.com/chidinma-becomes-molped-brand-ambassador)Chidinma is the founder of NMA care foundation,a non governmental organization set-up to cater for visually impaire
children

Net Worth

As one of the great female Nigerian Artists, Chidinma Ekile performed at the MTN Power of 10 Concert that was organized in September 2011 and her net worth as at that time was $2.8million.

Awards and nominations

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

See also

* List of Igbo people
* List of Yoruba people
* List of Nigerian musicians

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chidinma
Living people
21st-century Nigerian women singers
Nigerian women pop singers
Nigerian women singer-songwriters
Singers from Lagos
Yoruba musicians
Igbo musicians
Participants in Nigerian reality television series
1991 births
English-language singers from Nigeria
Yoruba-language singers
University of Lagos alumni