Omah Lay
Omah Lay | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria |
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| Occupation(s) |
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| Years active | 2019–present |
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Stanley Omah Didia, known professionally as Omah Lay, is a Nigerian singer. He gained widespread recognition in early 2020 after his self-produced single, "Bad Influence", went viral on social media. He is also known for being featured alongside Alpha P on the official Masterkraft's remix of Justin Bieber's 2021 single, "Peaches", as well as another collaboration with the latter on "Attention" in 2022. Lay won the Next Rated award at the 2020 Headies Awards.
Early life
Stanley Omah Didia was raised in the Nigerian city of Port Harcourt. He hails from Ikwerre, Rivers Local Government Area in Rivers State. He attended Comprehensive High School in Rivers State before proceeding to the University of Port Harcourt. He comes from a musical family and his grandfather played instruments for the singer Celestine Ukwu before he died in 1977. Lay's father played the drums.
Career
Lay started out in a rap group under the stage name "Lil King." He later moved on to songwriting and music producing, which went largely uncredited, and as a result of that, he released "Do Not Disturb" in April 2019. "Hello Brother" was released a month after.
He signed to a record label named KeyQaad in June 2019, and took a seven month break. During the break, he worked on his debut EP, Get Layd. He told OkayAfrica, "I started working on it August [of 2019]. At some point I had to go off social media, stay away from a lot of things and keep my head straight to get the project right. The first song I'd recorded on Get Layd was 'Bad Influence.' I'd done that way before the songs we had to put on the project." Following the break, he released "Bad Influence," which became the most streamed Nigerian song on Apple Music at the end of 2020.
On 14 February 2020, Lay released "You," his first official single. He released his five-track debut EP, Get Layd on 22 May 2020. The EP peaked at number one on the Nigerian Apple Music charts. All five songs from the EP reached the top 15 of the Apple Music charts for Nigeria, with "You" peaking at number one.
In October, Lay appeared on Olamide's album Carpe Diem, on the track "Infinity", which topped the Apple Music charts for Nigeria.
On 20 November, Lay released his second five-track EP, What Have We Done. All five tracks reached the top 12 of the Apple Music charts for Nigeria, with "Godly" reaching number one.
On 3 July 2020, Lay was the first artist highlighted for Apple's Africa Rising Campaign to spotlight African talent. In December 2020, he was included in BBC Radio 1Xtra's annual "Hot for 2021" list. He was the first African artist featured on Audiomack's #Up Now program for emerging artists; was included in Montreux Jazz Festival's "20 artists to watch in 2021"; and was named BET's Amplified International Artist of the Month for November 2020. He is currently signed to Dvpper Music Distribution in Nigeria, and Sire Records for international distribution. He was nominated in four categories at the 2020 Headies Awards, winning the Next Rated award.
On 25 June 2021, Lay was featured alongside fellow Nigerian singer Alpha P on Nigerian producer Masterkraft's official remix of Canadian singer Justin Bieber's single, "Peaches". On 8 July 2021, Lay released a new single, "Understand". On 3 March 2022, he released a collaboration with Bieber, "Attention", which serves as the second collaboration between the two artists.
Controversy
On 14 December 2020, Lay was arrested alongside Tems after they performed in a show in Uganda. The Ugandan Police authority identified violation of COVID-19 lockdown protocols as the reason for their arrests. The artists felt they were set up. Two days later, the Ugandan government released the two, apologised for the arrests and cleared them of wrongdoing.
Political views
Lay has expressed his support for the #EndSARS campaign in Nigeria. He told Harper's Bazaar, "People need to know these protests are purely about the people, with no political undertone whatsoever. Police harass, extort, beat, and kill us just for being young and trendy, with no consequences. This has gone on long enough, and we are saying enough is enough and demanding government action."
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Boy Alone |
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Extended plays
| Title | Extended play details |
|---|---|
| Get Layd |
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| What Have We Done |
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Singles
As lead artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN |
IRE |
NZ Hot |
SWE |
UK |
US Bub. |
WW | |||
| "Do Not Disturb" | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles |
| "Hello Brother" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Bad Influence" | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Get Layd |
| "You" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Damn" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Forever" (Remix) (with Gyakie) |
2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single |
| "Understand" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Boy Alone | |
| "Free My Mind" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Winter Wonderland / Don't Worry Be Happy" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Attention" (with Justin Bieber) |
2022 | 45 | 78 | 9 | 87 | 76 | 11 | 74 | Boy Alone |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||
As featured artist
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Tonight" (Spinall featuring Omah Lay) |
2020 | Grace |
| "Pami" (DJ Tunez featuring Wizkid, Adekunle Gold, and Omah Lay) |
Non-album single | |
| "Pronto" (Ajebo Hustlers featuring Omah Lay) |
2021 | Kpos Lifestyle, Vol. 1 |
| "Peaches" (Masterkraft Remix) (Justin Bieber featuring Alpha P and Omah Lay) |
Non-album single |
Guest appearances
| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Infinity" | 2020 | Olamide | Carpe Diem |
| "Abeg" | 2021 | DJ Neptune, Joeboy | Greatness 2.0 |
Production discography
2018
Kidoben Ace
- "Caught Up"
2019
Klug Ali
- "Opium"
Sikiboi
- "One Day"
2020
Omah Lay – Get Layd
- 2. "Lo Lo"
- 4. "Bad Influence"
Moveek
- "Flossin"
Omah Lay – What Have We Done
- 4. "Confession"
2021
Jhay Jhay
- "Welcum Party"
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee/work | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | The Headies | Next Rated | Omah Lay | Won | |
| Viewer's Choice | Nominated | ||||
| Best R&B Single | "Bad Influence" | Nominated | |||
| Songwriter of the Year | Stanley Omah Didia – "Bad Influence" | Nominated | |||
| 2021 | Ghana Music Awards | Best African Artiste of the Year | Omah Lay | TBA | |
| MTV Africa Music Awards | Best Breakthrough Act | Pending | |||
| Net Honours | Most Played Pop Song | ''Godly" | Won | ||
| Most Played RnB Song | "Pami"
(DJ Tunez featuring Wizkid Adekunle Gold & Omah Lay) |
Nominated | |||
| All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) | Artiste of the Year in Africa | Omah Lay | Nominated | ||
| Best Artiste in Western Africa | Nominated | ||||
| Breakout Artiste of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| Best Artiste, Duo or Group in African Pop | Nominated | ||||
| 2021 | Afro X Digitals Awards | Break Out Act of the Year | Omah Lay | Won |