Omah Stanley Didia (born 18 May 1997), Professionally known as Omah Lay, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer.[1][2] Omah Lay came into limelight and gained international recognition with his singles "Bad Influence", "Do Not Disturb", "Godly,” Understand," "Attention," and "Soso". He has won numerous awards including Headies in 2020 and 2023.
Omah Lay released his debut studio album Boy Alone in 2022, followed by a deluxe in 2023.[3] The album received critical acclaim.[4][5] He is the CEO of his new music company called Boy Alone. It was reviewed by his manager in an interview with Okay Africa.
Omah Lay was born 19 May 1997[1] and raised in city of Port Harcourt , Igwurutwa, Rivers state in Nigeria.[6] He attended Comprehensive High School in Rivers State before proceeding to the University of Port Harcourt.[7] Lay comes from a musical family. His grandfather played instruments for the singer Celestine Ukwu before he died in 1977. Lay's father played the drums.[8]
Omah Lay began his career in a rap group where he went by the stage name "Lil King." At 16, he moved on to songwriting and producing for several artists. He went solo in 2019 with the release of "Do Not Disturb" and "Hello Brother".[1] The same year, he signed to the record label named KeyQaad[6][9] and began working on Get Layd, his debut EP. In an interview with OkayAfrica, Omah Lay stated, "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."[10]
In 2020, Omah Lay released the singles "Bad Influence" and "You," two songs from the Get Layd EP.[11] "Bad Influence" became the most streamed Nigerian song on Apple Music at the end of 2020.[12] His Get Layd EP peaked at number one on the Nigerian Apple Music charts.[6] All five songs from the EP reached the top 15 of the Apple Music charts for Nigeria, with "You" peaking at number one.[13] The same year he also appeared on the song "Infinity" on the Olamide's album Carpe Diem, which topped the Apple Music charts in Nigeria.[14]
On 3 July 2020, Omah Lay was the first artist highlighted for Apple's Africa Rising Campaign to spotlight African talent.[2][15] On December 2020, he was included in BBC Radio 1Xtra's annual "Hot for 2021" list.[16] He was the first African artist featured on Audiomack's #Up Now program for emerging artists;[17] was included in Montreux Jazz Festival's "20 artists to watch in 2021";[18] and was named BET's Amplified International Artist of the Month for November 2020.[19] He was nominated in four categories at the 2020 Headies Awards, winning the Next Rated award.[20] On 20 November 2020, Omah 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.[21]
On 14 December 2020, Omah Lay was arrested alongside[22] 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.[23][24] Two days later, the Ugandan government released the two, apologised for the arrests and cleared them of wrongdoing.[25] 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".[26][27]
In March 2022, Lay released "Attention", a second collaboration with Bieber.[28] The song was part of Lay's debut album Boy Alone released the same year.[29] As part of the album release, Lay launched the Boy Alone Tour where he played in both the United States and Canada in 2022.[29] During the summer of 2023, Lay released a deluxe version of this album Boy Alone[30] and he received a Headies Award for best Male Artist and Album for the album.[31] The same year he also surpassed 1 billion streams on Spotify for all his music.[32] He was also featured on the song "I Can't Stop" along with Big Boss Vette which was a deluxe edition bonus track for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.[33]
Omah Lay began the European leg of his Boy Alone Tour in 2024.[34] During one of his performances in London, he drew criticism for inviting a female fan on stage to dance while her boyfriend was in attendance (and left the venue in disappointment).[35] He also released the single "Holy Ghost" in 2024 as well as a remix of the song where he collaborated with French DJ and producer Martin Solveig. The song topped the African streaming platforms with over 100 million streams.[33]Omah Lay was featured on With You a song in Davido 5ive Album,the Song became the biggest hit in the entire album. A fan and Upcoming artist Nixxan released a 5 track mixtape in honour of Omah Lay.
Omah 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."[36]
In 2020, Omah Lay gained widespread recognition after the release of his debut extended play (EP) Get Layd, which peaked at number one on the Nigerian Apple Music charts.[37] The EP included hit singles such as "Bad Influence" and "You," which gained massive streaming numbers across Africa.
In November 2020, he was featured as Apple Music’s debut Africa Rising Artist, an initiative to promote emerging African talent.[38]
At the 14th Headies Awards held in February 2021, Omah Lay won the award for Next Rated, a category recognizing Nigeria’s most promising new artist.[39] In the same year, he received a nomination for Best African Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards.[40]
In July 2022, he released his debut studio album Boy Alone, which debuted at number one on the Nigerian albums chart and received critical acclaim for its introspective lyrics and unique Afrofusion sound.[41]
In October 2022, Omah Lay was named Boomplay's Most Streamed Male Artist of the Year, surpassing 300 million total streams on the platform.[42]
In 2023, he received nominations at the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) for Best Male Artist in Western Africa and Song of the Year for "Understand".[43]
In early 2024, Omah Lay sold out his headline concert at the O2 Academy Brixton in London, marking a significant milestone in his international career.[44]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEL (WA) [45] |
FRA [46] |
NLD [46] |
SWI [46] | |||
| Boy Alone |
|
158 | 106 [47] |
42 | 82 | SNEP: Gold[48] |
| Title | Extended play details |
|---|---|
| Get Layd[6] |
|
| What Have We Done[49] |
|
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN [50] |
IRE [51] |
NLD [52] |
NZ Hot [53] |
SWE [54] |
SWI [46] |
UK [55] |
US Bub. [56] |
WW [57] | ||||
| "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" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "Winter Wonderland / Don't Worry Be Happy" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Attention" (with Justin Bieber) |
2022 | 45 | 78 | 62 | 9 | 87 | 49 | 76 | 11 | 74 |
|
Boy Alone |
| "Soso" | — | — | 79 | — | — | 52 | — | — | — | |||
| "Reason" | 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | – | — | — | — | Boy Alone (Deluxe Edition) | |
| "Holy Ghost" | 2024 | — | — | — | — | — | – | — | — | — | SNEP: Gold[60] | Non-album singles |
| "Moving" | — | — | — | — | — | – | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||
| 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 | |
| "Namek" (Jul featuring Omah Lay) |
2022 | Cœur blanc |
| "People Remix" (Libianca featuring Omah Lay and Ayra Starr) |
2023 | Non-album singles |
| "Another Vibe" (Luciano featuring Omah Lay) |
2024 | |
| "One Call" (Spinall featuring Omah Lay and Tyla) |
Non-album singles |
| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Infinity" | 2020 | Olamide | Carpe Diem |
| "Abeg" | 2021 | DJ Neptune, Joeboy | Greatness 2.0 |
| "10 Toe" | 2022 | King Promise | 5 Star |
| "Tears" | 2024 | Kehlani | Crash |
| "With You" | 2025 | Davido | 5ive |
Kidoben Ace
Klug Ali
Sikiboi
Omah Lay – Get Layd
Moveek
Omah Lay – What Have We Done
Jhay Jhay
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee/work | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | The Headies | Next Rated | Omah Lay | Won | [62] |
| Viewer's Choice | Nominated | [63] | |||
| 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 | [64] |
| MTV Africa Music Awards | Best Breakthrough Act | Pending | [65] | ||
| Net Honours | Most Played Pop Song | "Godly" | Won | [66] | |
| 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 | [67] | |
| Best Artiste in Western Africa | Nominated | ||||
| Breakout Artiste of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| Best Artiste, Duo or Group in African Pop | Nominated | ||||
| Afro X Digitals Awards | Break Out Act of the Year | Omah Lay | Won | [68] |
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