Lara George (born 23 June 1978), known professionally as a US-based

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

gospel singer, songwriter and producer. She started her music career at the

University of Lagos The University of Lagos (UNILAG) is a Public university, public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria, which was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the education in Nigeria#First generation universities, first generation universities in ...

and was a member of the disbanded musical group Kush. Her debut album ''Forever In My Heart'' was released in 2008 and included the hit single "Ijoba Orun," which earned her several awards and nominations. She has performed at notable events and appeared on

BET International BET International (Black Entertainment Television) is an international television channel centred towards black culture. It is available in Africa, along with the Middle East/North Africa region. It was launched on 28 February 2008 in the UK and ...

as one of the first Nigerian artists to be aired on that show. She is married with two children and lives in

Alpharetta, Georgia Alpharetta is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia, United States, and part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Alpharetta's population was 65,818; in 2010, the population had been 57,551. History In the 1830s, ...

in the United States. Additionally, she is the Vice President of SoForte Entertainment Distribution Ltd., the first home-grown structured entertainment distribution company in Nigeria.

Early life and education

Lara George was born on 23 June 1978 into the family of Oluwole Bajomo in

Lagos State Lagos State (, ) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West, Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, Nigerian states, Lagos is the second List of Nigerian states by population, most populous state but the List of Nigerian states by area, smallest ...

, the administrative division of

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. She attended

Queen's College, Lagos Queen's College, Lagos, is a government-owned girls' secondary (high) school with boarding facilities, situated in Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria. Often referred to as the "sister college" of King's College, Lagos, it was founded on October 10, 1927, when ...

before proceeding to the

, where she obtained a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

Career

George began her music career at the

, where she joined the campus fellowship choir. She was a member of the disbanded musical group Kush. Her debut album, titled Forever In My Heart, included the hit single "Ijoba Orun" which was released in 2008. The album earned her several awards and nominations. In 2008, she won Voice of the Year at the

Music Awards. In 2010, she was awarded Best Vocals Performance (Female) in the industry-wide 'Headies' awards, now renamed 'Hip-Hop World Awards' in Nigeria. She emerged the winner of the Best African Female Gospel Artiste category at the 2011 Africa Gospel Music Awards held in London, UK. George has also been named Trailblazer of the Year, Africa Gospel Music Awards, nominated in the 2016 edition of the prestigious pan-African Kora Awards as Best Female Artiste West Africa, and also Gospel Artiste of the Year, Ben TV Awards UK, amongst many other awards. George has performed in various notable events including the GreenBelt Festival UK (as part of KUSH), one of Africa's largest musical concerts with attendance of over 500,000 people- The Experience- alongside notable gospel artistes such as

Ron Kenoly Ron Kenoly (born December 6, 1944) is an American Christian worship leader, singer, and songwriter. He holds several degrees, including a music degree from Alameda College, a Master of Divinity from Faith Bible College, and a Doctorate of M ...

, Bebe,

Cece Winans Priscilla Marie Love, known professionally by her stage name as CeCe Winans, (born October 8, 1964) is an American gospel singer who has garnered 17 Grammy Awards, the most for any female gospel singer; 33 GMA Dove Awards, 19 Stellar Awards, ...

, Micah Stampley, Don Moen and Mary Mary. Other performances include the Calabar Festival, MTN Music Festival, Festival of Life UK, Festival of Life Canada, amongst many others. George appeared on BET International as one of the first artistes from Nigeria to be aired on that show. She was a member of the

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

Voting Academy for two years in a row. She served as a judge on the music TV show ''Airtel TRACE MUSIC Star''.

Personal life

She is married to Gbenga George, a legal practitioner and music entrepreneur. She has two children: a boy named Adeoba and a girl named Tiaraoluwa and lives in

in the United States. She is Vice President of SoForte Entertainment Distribution Ltd. , the first home-grown structured entertainment distribution company in Nigeria, partnering with IAS/TNT courier, as well as fast food outlets Mr. Biggs and Sweet Sensation, resulting in over 250 outlets across Nigeria for physical distribution of musical products.

Discography

Albums

*''Forever In My Heart'' (2008) *''Lara George'' (2009) *''Higher - The Dansaki Album'' (2012) *''Love Nwantintin'' (2014) *''The Medley Album'' (2014) *''A Slice of Heaven'' (2017) *''Daddy's Girl'' (2021)

Singles

* ''You Alone Oluwa Medley'' (2014) * ''Total Surrender'' (2016) * ''Lara George Praise Medley'' (2016) * ''Kolebaje Medley'' (2016) * ''Eyin L'oba'' (2016) * ''Nobody Greater'' (2016)

Covers

* "Hello" (Adele cover) (2015)

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:George, Lara Living people Singers from Lagos Singers from Lagos State Nigerian gospel singers University of Lagos alumni English-language singers from Nigeria Yoruba-language singers of Nigeria Yoruba women musicians Yoruba musicians Queen's College, Lagos alumni 1978 births American musicians of Nigerian descent American people of Yoruba descent Nigerian women singers