Tiwa Savage

After breaking into the music industry in Britain and the US, pop singer Tiwa Savage became a star in her native Nigeria. She’s been dubbed the “Queen of Afrobeats”. • Born in Lagos, Savage moved to the UK for school when she was 11. She was a teenager when she began singing backup onstage for acts including George Michael, Sting and Mary J. Blige. • After competing in the third season of the The X Factor in the UK, Savage moved to Boston to attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music. She received a diploma in professional music in 2006. • Savage signed a publishing deal with Sony in 2009 and was soon writing songs for artists including Babyface, Kat Deluna and Fantasia. • Inspired by the growth of Afrobeats music, she soon moved back to Nigeria, where she co-hosted Nigerian Idol in 2011 and released her debut LP, Once Upon a Time, in 2013 on the Lagos label Mavin Records. • After a second album, R.E.D., in 2015, Savage became the first Nigerian to sign a management and publishing deal with JAY-Z’s Roc Nation. • Savage broke through to a wider audience on her third album, 2020’s Celia. The 13-track collection went Top 20 on Billboard’s World Albums chart and climbed up the rankings of various streaming services around the world.