Tunde Ednut, Tems, and 5 Other Nigerian Artists Who Are One-Hit Wonders
The ability/capacity to create back-to-back hit songs over the space of a decade is a skill that not many creatives have in their lockers.
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Some people get lucky and strike gold in their first attempts as musicians/singers. However, it becomes extremely difficult to repeat such feats after their first try.
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Over the last three decades, the Nigerian music industry has seen its fair share of one-hit wonders who did it once but could never repeat their first feat or even go higher.
Legit.ng, in this article, has compiled a list of seven Nigerian artists that could be considered a one-hit wonder to date.
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1. Grammy winner, Tems:
This particular entry into this list would stir many people's reactions, but with a calm explanation, some would see why Tems tops this list.
Nigerian singer and Grammy Award winner Tems Openiyi, also known as Tems, has been one of the most gifted Afrobeat artists in the country over the last seven years.
However, many would still categorise Tem's recent success as sheer luck rather than one rated based on talent, hard work and consistency.
To date, Tems is yet to drop a full album. Her debut work is an EP released in 2020, Broken Ears. On that record, she had two of her biggest hits: Rebels, Try Me, Crazy Tings, Damages and These Days.
You would have to give it to her because of the five songs on the EP; four were all super hits, which all did crazy numbers.
Two years later, she gave us "Free Mind", another glass-shattering hit, but still no album. Tems has been a force in the music industry for over six years with hits but no album, just one EP.
This classifies her as the biggest one-hit wonder ever to grace Afrobeats.
Throughout 2023, there were interviews, talks and press releases about dropping her debut album, but it never came through.
She remains the one-hit wonder queen until she drops her debut album with at least five hits on it.
2. Tunde Ednut did two hits and never came back:
Famous Nigerian blogger and entertainer Tunde Olaoluwa Adekunle, aka Tunde Ednut, is next on the list.
The singer-turned-blogger is known more for blogging than his music career. Ednut started out in the entertainment industry as a singer and wasn't bad at it.
His first song, Catching Cold, was a huge hit when it dropped in 2013. It garnered a lot of praise and reviews.
Afterwards, Tunde Ednut released a Christmas song, Jingle Bell. This song was the biggest December tune for nearly two years as it became Nigeria's Christmas Carol song.
However, after these two songs, Tunde Ednut lost his mojo; to date, he has yet to return to those lofty heights.
It would be nice to note that he is doing well as a blogger/entertainer. He is the country's most prominent independent Instagram blogger and has even been crowned by many as the Kingmaker.
But yes, he is number two on our list for one of Nigeria's biggest one-hit wonders, or we can call him two-hit wonders.
3. Bigiano, Mr Shayo:
Nigerian singer Oluwagbemiga Babalola, aka Bigiano, is another artist who made it to this list.
Many would argue that no One-hit wonder artist in Nigeria is bigger than Bigiano. To date, his debut single, Shayo, is still one of the biggest songs ever over the last two decades.
The track gained massive popularity and recognition across Nigeria like no other song in 2008. He was the talk of the town.
But after the rave of the Shayo song died down, Bigiano never made a return as he gradually disappeared into oblivion.
4. Jamo Pypher - If no be you
The next artist to make it to this list is Jamo Pypher. The Zanku Record label signee, whose real name is Jamiu Damilare Tajudeen, is another artist who came through with a hit song in his debut year as a musician but never evolved.
Jamo Pypher 2020 dropped one of the biggest songs of the lockdown season, along with Olakira's Maserati.
But since the big break in 2020, it's been four years and nothing from Jamo Pypher as he gradually fades into oblivion.
5. Olakira, Mr Maserati:
One artist whom many had high hopes for after his big break in 2020 with his song Maserati was Adefemi Ebenezer, known better as Olakira.
His debut single, Maserati, was one of the biggest songs of 2020, which garnered massive airwaves and shattered several records in TikTok.
The Maserati song was so big that the famous luxury sports car company Ferrari invited the singer to their factory in Italy and made Olakira an ambassador for their brand.
Since 2020, Olakira has yet to drop another single as big as Maserati, talk less of surpassing it. Hopefully, in the not-too-long future, Olakira will find his mojo with a massive comeback song.
6. Kas, Mr producer turned singer:
There are a few one-hit wonders that, no matter when conversations about artists having just one good big song, would always feature such a singer as Kas.
Kas started as a music producer but decided to test the waters as a singer in 2011 with his debut single, Fimile.
The song was a massive hit. However, the music producer could never repeat his debut feat and has become nothing but a page in the history of Afrobeats.
7. Konga, Mr Baby Konga:
One of Nigeria's first indigenous rappers, Lawal Olalekan Olumo, aka Konga, also makes it to this list.
In 2004, the rapper dropped one of the biggest songs in the music industry that could be tagged as an alternative sound because of the "Enoh" language used on it.
Since 2004, Konga has gone into oblivion. He has a couple of songs he featured that went viral, but Konga never got a hit as big as his debut track, Baby Konga.
This list isn't to denigrate any artist or their creative works. It is just a reminder of how quickly musicians could be forgotten if they don't constantly put in the hard work and deliver fantastic pieces of music.
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Source: Legit.ng
