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Grammy Recognises Niniola For Her Work On Beyonce’s “The Lion King: The Gift” Album

By Akinwale Akinyoade

25 April 2020   |   12:48 pm

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Nigerian singer Niniola has come a long way from the aspiring star that competed on music reality show Project Fame many years ago. Not only has she established herself as a music force in the Nigerian music industry, but she has also amassed enough hit songs and followership to earn herself a seat at the…

Nigerian singer Niniola has come a long way from the aspiring star that competed on music reality show Project Fame many years ago.

Not only has she established herself as a music force in the Nigerian music industry, but she has also amassed enough hit songs and followership to earn herself a seat at the table.

Last year, when international songstress Beyonce worked alongside top African artists on the album “The Lion King: The Gift,” not many were aware that Niniola was a part of that project.

Yes, her vocals may not have been on the album but she was one of the composers in the Grammy-nominated album.

For her contribution to the album, the Recording Academy, organisers of the prestigious Grammy Awards have sent Niniola a certificate of recognition.

An excited Niniola took to her Instagram page to share the good news alongside a copy of the certificate of recognition from the Recording Academy.

In her post, she thanked God and everyone who has shown her support. She wrote:

“And The GRAMMY Certificate @recordingacademy just came in the mail today…Thank You God and Thank you to everyone that has been supporting. Love U All”

Niniola competed on the 2013 edition of Project Fame and went on to release the song “Ibadi” on March 19, 2014 as her debut single. She was nominated for Most Promising Act to Watch at the 2015 Nigeria Entertainment Awards.

Her 2017 hit song “Maradona” spent 13 weeks on South Africa’s Metro FM chart, retaining the number 1 position for 6 weeks.

In 2019, elements of “Maradona” were sampled in “Find Your Way Back”, a song from Beyoncé‘s soundtrack album The Lion King: The Gift.

On July 9, 2019, it was revealed that Beyoncé produced and curated an album titled The Lion King: The Gift, which features new songs inspired by the film. 

Beyoncé called the album “sonic cinema” and said that the film “is a new experience of storytelling” and that the album “is influenced by everything from R&B, pop, hip hop and Afro beat“.