Nigerian Global Star: Chidinma - Miss Kedike

Chidinma Ekile (born May 2, 1991), popularly known by her stage name Chidinma, is a Nigerian singer-songwriter, recording artist, stage performer, and brand ambassador for MTN Nigeria
In 2010, she rose to stardom after winning the third season of MTN's Project Fame West Africa, a reality-singing competition series. After releasing 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 her first single "Jankoliko", featuring Sound Sultan.Chidinma, her self-titled debut studio album, 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.In 2012, Chidinma won the "Best Female West African Act" category at the 2012 Kora Awards; she performed "Kedike" at the ceremony.

Early life, educational pursuits, and public image

Chidinma Ekile, the last of six children, was born in Ketu, Lagos State.Both of her parents are from Imo State. She worked as a business promoter in Lagos prior to auditioning for the third season of MTN's Project Fame West Africa. Chidinma started singing at the age of 6, and grew up with a disciplinarian father. When she was 10 years old, she joined her church's choir. She attended primary and secondary school in Ketu prior to relocating to Ikorodu with her family. Chidinma is currently studying Sociology at the University of Lagos. She initially wanted to study Mass Communication.Chidinma declined her admission into the University of Lagos due to her advancement in the aforesaid competition. In an interview with YNaija, Chidinma said that she has always taken school seriously and her decision to enroll at Unilag was inevitable. She also said that music hasn't always been on her agenda, and that she decided to give music a try after winning the MTN Project Fame 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 that she is still the same. She also said that she's evolving and growing as a musician.

Music career

Project Fame

Prior to auditioning for the third edition of Project Fame West Africa, she dreamt of being part of the reality TV show that was instituted in 2008. With the help and support from her close knit friend, Chidinma left her home in Ikorodu and went to the Ultima Studios, the venue for the show's 2010 Lagos auditions. She was among the 8,000 or so contestants who went to showcase their talents that year. Subsequently, Chidinma advanced to the Fame Academy round, alongside 17 other contestants. 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. On September 26, 2010, Chidinma became the apparent winner of the competition. She won several prizes, including N2.5 million, a 2011 Toyota RAV4, and an album production deal.

Notable performances

Kingsley Momoh and Chidinma

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 September 9, 2011. Chidinma was one of the supporting acts at the 2013 Hennessy Artistry Club Tour, headlined by D'banj.^[18][19] On November 3, 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, among others. On November 9, 2013, Chidinma performed with Blackstreet at the Butterscotch Evening Experience, a concert held at the Eko Hotels and Suites. On February 14, 2014, she performed at the MTN Valentine Rave Party, alongside Tiwa Savage, Mario, and Sound Sultan.^[22] Chidinma has performed in several countries across Africa, including The Republic of Benin, Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Cameroun, Equitorial Guinea, Niger, and Ghana.

2011-2012:Chidinma

Kingsley Momoh & Chidinma

Chidinma started working on her debut studio album, Chidinma, after releasing a collaborative project with the other finalists of MTN Project Fame West Africa Season 3. The album was scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of 2011. Chidinma spoke briefly on her album and said that she put a whole lot of energy into the album. Chidinma worked with different producers for her first studio project, including Cobhams Asuquo, Tee Y Mix, WazBeat, and Oscar Heman Ackah. On February 22, 2011, she released the singles "Jankoliko", featuring Sound Sultan, and "Carry You Go". Both songs were written and produced by Oscar Heman Ackah. In an interview posted on the Weekly Trust website, Chidinma said that she's happy about the positive response she received after releasing the song, and is working hard to improve her craft. The music video for "Jankoliko", directed by Clarence Peters, was released on June 4, 2011, at a total length of 3 minutes and 33 seconds. On October 11, 2011, Chidinma released "Kedike", the album's third single. The song translates to "Heartbeat", and was produced by Cobhams Asuquo. In an interview with Entertainment Rave, Chidinma said that "Kedike" is a song that depicts love. She and her producers invented the word "Kedike". On October 11, 2011, she also released the album's fourth single "Run Dia Mouth".The music video for "Kedike" was released on January 24, 2012. It was directed by Clarence Peters, and released at a total length of 3 minutes and 5 seconds. Dammy Krane, a recording artist signed to Tuface's Hypertek Records, played Chidinma's love interest in the music video.

Chidinma began recording her upcoming album in the fourth quarter of 2012. On September 14, 2012, she released the album's lead single "Emi Ni Baller", featuring her fellow labelmates Tha Suspect and IllBliss. The song was produced by Legendury Beatz. It peaked at number 7 on Vanguard's "Top 10 songs that made 2013" list.On February 22, 2013, Chidinma and her record label released the remix of "Emi Ni Baller", featuring Wizkid. The song was also produced by Legendury Beatz.On June 12, 2013, CAPital Dreams Pictures released the music video for "Emi Ni Baller". It was shot and directed in the U.K by Clarence Peters.On June 10, 2013, Chidinma released "Bless My Hustle" featuring Phyno, "Kite", and "Jolly", three singles off the upcoming album. "Bless My Hustle" was produced by Tha Suspect, and "Kite" was produced by Del B. "Jolly" was produced by Wizboy.

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

Accomplishments and musical influences
Chidinma won the "Best Female West African Act" category at 2012 Kora Awards, held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Her award plaque was presented to her by Didier Drogba. She toppled Omawumi and five others for the honor. 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.

Personal life
Sex tape scandal
In November 2013, a viral sex tape surfaced on the internet. Many people alleged that Chidinma was the one in the sex tape. Speaking to Sunday Beats, Chidinma debunked the rumors. She said that she felt bad when she initially heard the story.[38] In an extensive interview with Nonye Ben-Nwankwo, Chidinma elaborated on the sex tape scandal. She said that while her fan base grew from the incident, she felt quite devastated. She also thanked her core fans for their support through the scandal.

Awards and nominations

Year	Event	Prize	Nominated work	Result	Ref
2014	MTV Africa Music Awards 2014	Best Female		Pending
2013	The Headies	Best Collabo	"Emi Ni Baller" (featuring Tha Suspect and IllBliss)	Nominated
	Nigeria Music Video Awards (NMVA)	Video of the Year		Nominated
		Best Pop Extra Video		Won
		Best Afro Hip Hop Video	"I Am Sorry" (IllBliss featuring Chidinma)	Nominated
	Channel O Music Video Awards	Most Gifted African West	"Emi Ni Baller" (featuring Tha Suspect and IllBliss)	Nominated
	Nigeria Entertainment Awards	Best Collabo		Nominated
	City People Entertainment Awards	Musician of the Year (Female)		Nominated
2012	The Headies	Best Vocal Performance (Female)	"Kedike"	Nominated
	Nigeria Music Video Awards (NMVA)	Best Afro Pop		Nominated
		Best Indigenous Concept		Nominated
	Nigeria Entertainment Awards	Best New Act of the Year		Nominated
		Best Pop/R&B Artist of the Year		Nominated
	Kora Awards	Best Female West African Act	"Kedike"	Won

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Cover	Album details	Notes
Chidinma		Released: 2012 Label:Capital Hill Records Format: CD, digital download Producers: Cobhams Asuquo, Oscar Heman Ackah	[show]Track listing