Lola Rae
Lola Rae | |
---|---|
Birth name | Rachel Akosua Funmilola Garton |
Born |
Obalende, Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria | January 20, 1991
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | singer-songwriter, dancer |
Instruments | Vocals |
Years active | 2010–present |
Associated acts |
Rachel Akosua Funmilola Garton (born 1991), professionally known as Lola Rae, is a Nigerian-born singer and dancer of Ghanaian and British descent. She gained recognition following the release of her debut single "Watch My Ting Go",[1] which received critical acclaim and thus earned her a nomination for Most Promising Female Act to Watch at the 2013 Nigeria Entertainment Awards.[2]
Growing up and education
Born to a British father and a Ghanaian mother in Obalende, a suburb of Lagos, Lola Rae had her primary and secondary school education at St. Saviours School, Ikoyi and Lekki British International High School, Lagos, respectively.[3] She however left Nigeria for England at the age of 15 to complete her university education at Central Saint Martins, where she studied fashion textiles.[4]
Career
Lola Rae's entertainment career started as a dancer when she was a member of the dance group Mystikal. In 2010, Mystikal auditioned for Britain's Got Talent.[5] Rae sang in the competition and judge Simon Cowell singled Mystikal out at the semi-final of the competition. Upon the end of the competition, Mystikal was signed to Syco for a year. Rae turned down an invitation to The X Factor in order to pursue a solo career as a singer.[6][7]
On 19 November 2012, Rae released her debut hit single Watch My Ting Go and a follow up single titled High.[8][9] She was nominated as the "Most Promising Female Act to Watch" at the 2013 Nigeria Entertainment Awards. The video for Watch My Ting Go premiered on Soundcity TV on 8 January 2013 with cameo appearances from Iyanya and Emma Nyra.[10] The video was nominated at the 10th Channel O Music Video Awards.[11]
Following Watch My Ting Go, Rae featured Iyanya on a song titled Fi Mi Le which earned Rae another nomination at the 2014 Nigeria Entertainment Awards.[12][13] She made a cameo appearance as Ice Prince's love interest in the music video for his song "More".[14]
Discography
Singles
- As lead artist
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NGA | GHA | RSA | AUS | UK | US | US R&B/HH | |||||||
"Watch My Ting Go" | 2012 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||||
"High" (featuring Bridge) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
"Fi Mi Le" (featuring Iyanya) |
2013 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
"She Knows He Knows" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
"You Know What My Name Is" | 2015 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
"One Time" | 2016 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
- As featured artist
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NGA | GHA | RSA | AUS | UK | US | US R&B/HH | |||||||
"Ginger"[15] (BOJ featuring Lola Rae) |
2013 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||||
"Coupe Bibamba (Remix)" (Awilo Longomba featuring Lola Rae) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
"Egwu" (Nizzy featuring Lola Rae) |
2014 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
"Work" (TeeJay featuring Lola Rae) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
"Pele Mo" (Danagog featuring Lola Rae) |
2015 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
- Promotional singles
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NGA | GHA | RSA | AUS | UK | US | US R&B/HH | |||||||
"Africa Rising"[16] (Davido, Tiwa Savage, Lola Rae, Sarkodie, Diamond Platnumz and Mi Casa) |
2014 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award ceremony | Prize | Work/Recipient | Result | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2013 | 2013 Channel O Africa Music Video Awards | Most Gifted Newcomer | "Watch My Ting Go" | Nominated | [17] |
2013 Nigeria Entertainment Awards | Most Promising Female Act to Watch | Herself | Nominated | [18] | |
2014 | 2014 Nigeria Entertainment Awards | Diaspora Artist of The Year | Nominated | [19] |
References
- ↑ "Nigeria's Lola Rae singer emerges on UK TV talent show". The BBC. 6 December 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- ↑ O., Ovie (6 December 2012). "Nigeria Entertainment Awards 2013 View Full Nominees List". notJustOk. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- ↑ Wesley-Metigboun, Shade (30 January 2015). "‘I have always wanted to do music’ -Lola Rae". Ecomium Magazine. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- ↑ "Deeva of the Week - Lola Rae". NaijaDeevas. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- ↑ Nwokolo, Arinze. "Everyone’s talking about …..Lola Rae". Zen Magazine. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- ↑ Sokoya, Seyi (18 August 2013). ""I want to be the female Wizkid" – Lola Rae". The Herald News. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- ↑ "Introducing Afrobeat superstar Lola Rae". MOBO. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- ↑ "LOLA RAE ALL SET TO STIR UP AFRICAN MUSIC". The Good Life. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- ↑ Aina, Iyabo (29 January 2015). "I love the crazy way Iyanya twists his waist – Lola Rae". Vanguard News. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- ↑ Ayo Jaguda (8 January 2013). "New Video: Lola Rae – Watch My Ting Go". Jaguda. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- ↑ "2013 Channel O Africa Music Video Awards". Channel O. 3 September 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- ↑ "Genevieve Nnaji, Don Jazzy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tiwa Savage, Bovi, Davido – Nigeria Entertainment Awards Nominees List". BellaNaija. 29 May 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- ↑ Tyler (9 July 2013). "Lola Rae – Fimile Ft. Iyanya". tooXclusive. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- ↑ Tayo, Ayomide O. (20 February 2015). "Lola Rae: Singer says she never dated Ice Prince". Pulse Nigeria. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- ↑ Demola OG (13 April 2013). "BOJ – Ginger ft. Lola Rae (Prod by StudioMagic)". notJustOk. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- ↑ Ovie O. (25 June 2014). "VIDEO: Davido, Tiwa Savage, Lola Rae, Sarkodie, Diamond, Mi Casa – Africa Rising". notJustOk. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- ↑ "UK Afrobeat rising star Lola Rae nominated for Channel O Music Awards". Nigerian Watch. 11 September 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- ↑ "And The Nominees Are…". Jaguda. 4 June 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- ↑ "Full list of winners for the NEA Awards 2014". The Nigerian Eye. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2016.