Top 10 Nigerian Breakout Stars Of 2020

The year 2020 had some of us in the neck and on the other hand, it handed some opportunities to shine and let the world out on what they are good at.

Although not much was done in the entertainment world as regards shows, concerts, music tours, movie premiers and the likes of other entertainment activities. Still, the year unraveled some really great talents that kept the movie industry, music industry and the entertainment world buzzling.
In no particular order, below are top 10 Nigerian breakout stars in 2020.

1. Omah Lay:
Omah Lay cane out of the blues and blew our minds with his exceptional style of music. He started as a music producer but wasn’t really popular, then he started doing music after being snubbed by artists he had done background work for. His breakthrough came this year when he released “You”, the song got massive airplay and he followed with an EP, “Get Layd”. The EP also became successful amassing over 100 million streams in less than a year. One would think he would stop there but Omah decided to double his work rate by releasing another EP, “What Have We done” to celebrate his joining of Warner Music. At the moment, Omah Lay isn’t just an household name in Nigeria, but also outside the shores of Africa.

2. Laycon:
The fierce Nigerian singer and TV star blew everyone’s mind as to how fast he rose to stardom. All thanks to the shot he got on the Big Brother Naija, season 5 reality show, where he emerged winner. Ever since, it’s been hard work, singles, musical collaborations, endorsement deals and ambassadorial appointments. Hardly will a day go by without having Laycon show up on all our screens. And recently, he got an international recognition.

3. Erica
Sometimes, good giftd are wrapped in a bad box. It’ll only take patience to unravel and see the beauty therein. Erica Nlewedim also know as star girl was disqualified from the Big Brother Naija season 5 TV reality show, but little did she know it will craete a path for her to get to famous. The star girl was recently crowned as the brand ambassador of Legend extra. Along sides that, she has gotten several endorsements and as an upcoming Nollywood actress, she is doing well for herself.

4. Bella Shmurda:
Akinbiyi Abiola Ahmed, popularly known as Bella Shmurda is a young artist that channels his energy to making good music. He came into the year with “Vision 2020” which is a hit. He then dropped his EP, “High Tension” which received positive reviews as well. He was enlisted by Olamide for “Triumphant”, a song on the superstar’s “Carpe Diem” album and again bagged a superstar feature on Davido’s ‘A Better Time’ album. Bella Shmurda made another resurgence with the raving street banger ‘Cash App‘ and as we speak, the music is making the entertainment world buzz.

5. Cheque:
You just need to do one thing before you are seen. But before that time comes, keep up the good work. Signed to Phyno‘s Penthauze Record label, Cheque is a rapper and singer who became a buzz this year. Before now he has been on a couple of songs with Phyno and Olamide but these efforts were not enough to drive him into our consciousness. Cheque went on to deliver an amazing debut body of work this year an EP titled ‘Razor‘. The EP has solid tunes like ‘Satisfied‘ and ‘Zoom‘. “Zoom” is now his widely known song.

READ ALSO: The Biggest Albums/EP Of The Year 2020
6. Tems:
Though she just has a handful of released songs, the singer has quickly become one of Nigeria’s shining stars with a voice that’s hard to resist. Tems as she is professionally called has carved a niche for herself in the music industry. What sets the singer apart from her peers is her ability to approach music with a freedom to express and experiment. Each song is different from the next, reinventing her sound with every release. Now everything’s coming full circle, with millions of views and streams, a Headies nomination, and a growing fanbase eager for more music.

7. Olakira:
Olakira isn’t new in the industry but he hasn’t been in the spotlight until his party jam “Masarati” grew organically to become one of the most played songs on Nigerian radio and internationally as well. Thanks to Tik Tok, the song gained more prominence with its dance challenge amogst all and sundry. DMW Boss, Davido who loved the song jumped on it to release a remix. The fast-rising music star had before released his “Wakanda Jollof” EP.

8. Temi Otedola
The fashion blogger and daughter of Nigerian billionaire, Femi Otedola literally blew everyone’s mind in her debut movie, ‘Citation’ in November. She is well known for her philanthropist act and fashion blogging but no one saw the actress in her. She is one of the talents 2020 showed us.

9. Zinoleesky:
Zinoleesky has been doing music for a while but things got more interesting after he got signed to Marlian Music. He released “Caro” featuring his boss, Naira Marley earlier in the year which was a hit and later updated his resume with the smooth medley, “Mapariwo”. Zinoleesky is arguably the best signee to come out of Marlian Music.

10. Bad Boy Timz:
Bad Boy Timz is  definitely having an exciting year as a newcomer. The Anonymous Music star gained attention after he released ‘MJ‘, a tribute to the late King of Pop. ‘MJ’ became a favourite on the playlist of DJs across the country and an instant club banger. He then decided to go further by featuring Mayorkun on the remix as the tune continued topping music charts. Thanks to his being featured on Olamide’s hit ‘Loading‘ off the ‘Carpe Diem’ album, Timz had praises heaped on him for his catchy hook on the song.

Photo Credit: Getty

Related