KOKOnista Of The Day: Seyi Shay Is The Stunning Nigerian Singer With A Sizzling Melanin Body

Deborah Oluwaseyi Joshua (born Oluwaseyi Odedere) professionally known as Seyi Shay, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and actress with stunning melanin body.

Seyi ShaySeyi Shay was born and raised in Tottenham, London, England, to Nigerian parents.

Seyi Shay
Her mother was from Northern Nigeria and her father is a native of Ife. She has two elder brothers and an elder sister.
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She and her siblings were raised by their single mother. Shay grew up in a religious setting and felt like a single child during her adolescence. She startedvisiting Nigeria when she was two years old, and eventually attended the Command High School in Maryland, Lagos.
She went back to London to complete her undergraduate studies. Her interest in music was influenced by members of her household. Her late mother was a chorister and her sister used to compose songs for TV. Seyi Shay
Moreover, her brother was a radio and club disc jockey. Shay joined her secondary school choir and started performing at the age of 6. She performed for the London Community Gospel Choir during their world tour, which included 13 cities in Japan. 
Shay was applauded for her performances in Japan. She studied music at a local UK college and went on to study business management at the University of East London.

Seyi Shay
Her music career took an upswing when she signed her first ever record deal with No Apology. In 2006, Shay formed a girl band in the UK called Boadicea; The band separated after two years, and Shay decided to partake in the From Above UK singing audition. After the conclusion of the audition, she emerged as the lead vocalist for the now defunct girl group From Above.The group inked a record deal with Mathew Knowles’ management company after performing for him. 
They were taken to Houston to undergo energetic vocal and dance trainings.The group supported Beyoncé while she was in the UK for her I Am… World Tour.They presented an award at the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards and had their own MTV reality show called Breaking From Above, which aired in over 166 countries around the world. 
The group later disassembled and Shay had an opportunity to continue her management deal with Mathew Knowles, as well as secure a recording contract with Sony. Instead, she made a decision to join Flytime Music after getting an offer from them. 
Shay has worked with a number of musicians, including Justin Timberlake, Brian Michael Cox, Darey, Bilal, Michelle Williams, Chip, Rob Knoxx, H-Money, and Cameron Wallace.


Seyi wrote and produced three songs for the soundtrack to Konami’s video game Crime Life: Gang Wars in 2005. She also wrote “You Will See”, a song that was included on Melanie C’s third studio album Beautiful Intentions (2005). 
Shay wrote “White Lies”, a song from Chip’s Transition album. In November 2013, Shay signed an endorsement deal with telecommunications service provider Etisalat. In July 2015, she signed a record deal with Island Records. Shay released her debut studio album Seyi or Shay in November 2015. It was supported by the promotional singles “Irawo”, “Ragga Ragga”, and “Chairman”.


Photo Credit: Getty

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