Why Wizkid Is Becoming Top Global Brands’ Sweetheart

FUNSHO AROGUNDADE

Over the years, Wizkid, Nigeria’s singing sensation, has developed a keen sense for the next big thing, and no matter how preposterous his fresh obsession may be, one has to trust in the Starboy at all times.

Penultimate week, Wizkid was the staple trending on various social media platforms. At a particular time, the singer trended for three days on the bounce —and all for the right reasons. For any discerning observer, Wizkid is the only Nigerian Superstar who never gets himself involved in drama yet still trends for minding his damn business.

“Wizkid is everything an artist should be —he is talented, creative, intelligent and smart. He understands the power of social media. He knows when to talk, what to say and when to be silent. And everybody around him is just like him, birds of a feather they say flock together,” a fan said of the singer.  And who is best to validate that than Wizkid himself. 

While social media platforms have turned to alternative platform for some artistes to drop their press releases, Wizkid, as far back as nine years ago, has been ignoring social media drama for long.

“My fans just need to listen to me and not the lies anybody say. If it doesn’t come from me, just know that it’s a lie and I will not lie to my fans. I know that I have that power with huge followers, so I would rather want to use such platform to inspire many people instead of focusing on irrelevant issues,” he said.

While it might sound blasphemous to some within the music fraternity, a school of thought believes there are only two artistes behind the Afrobeat movement —Fela Kuti (The founder) and Wizkid (The lad who took it to the world). Reference was made of his 2017 sophomore SFTOS (Sound From The Other Side) album, an international blueprint that had Wizkid, Chris Brown, Trey Songz and French Montana on a song.

Whether you are 16 or 60, chances are you must have heard of Wizkid. Since he dropped Superstar, his debut in 2011, Wizkid has evolved and the young music star must have dropped one song that flows with your mood. Despite his relatively young age, Wizkid must have done a soundtrack to everyone’s life story. 

Evidently, the singer only works for a cause and not for any applause. Wizkid lives his life to express and not to impress. He just wants to make music, minds his business, focuses on his craft, breaks records, sign international deals and live a positive life. And this is paying off.

Wizkid is the second Nigerian male artiste to cross 10 million followers on Instagram. He follows the growth path of the likes of Davido, Tiwa Savage and Yemi Alade as he hits 10 million followers. And on Twitter, he has over six million legit followers.

Over the years, social media has evolved to be something great, not just for appearance but it is great enough to now translate into wealth as Instagram users can now monetize their platforms and for these artistes, this goes a long way in growing their brands and become the best.

Star power creates awareness and sways people into purchasing long before it was called influencer marketing. The only difference now is the influencer marketing field is broader, wider, and destined to run forever.

While some brands may not be getting as many eyeballs as expected despite signing some top pop-culture and faith-based influencers, but anything Wizkid has been.

As Nigeria’s most famous performer and a global icon in music, Wizkid arguably is a recognized pop culture sensation and this has helped him to grab so many high-end corporate and brands endorsements deals such as Pepsi, MTN, Guinness, Hennessy, Dolce & Gabbana, Nike, Glo, Ciroc and lately, mobile phone brand, TECNO.

His romance as top brands’ sweetheart started in 2012. A year into the release of his debut album, Wizkid inked an initial one-year endorsement deal with Pepsi worth $350,000. When that ended, he grabbed another five-year deal with a six-figure cheque denominated in dollars.

In 2013, MTN offered him a two-year deal with N40million paid into his account. Same year, Guinness also fell in with a deal. Not done, Wizkid was chosen as 2014 Hennessy Artistry headliner alongside 2Baba.

But in the following year, 2015, Wizkid made the headline as he became GLO ambassador in what insiders described as a life changing multimillion Naira deal from Mike Adenuga’s company. And from then, various international deals started sipping in with Starboy signing a lucrative deal with Dolce & Gabbanna; followed by NIKE and Nigerian Football Federation in a deal said to worth $3.75million (approximately N743million); Moschino, another global fashion brand and then CIROC, an ultra-premium and world’s most exclusive vodka brands, promoted by Hip-hop mogul, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs—all in 2018.

While still savouring all these, in 2019, Nigeria’s Africa Global bank, UBA Plc announced a mega deal said to be worth $3 million with Wizkid. This deal is also referred to as the biggest deal in Africa!

Forget the global Covid-19 pandemic ravaging the entire globe. The show must go on. And on it is for Wizkid as he opened year 2020 with a brand endorsement deal with mobile phone brand, TECNO. It would be correct to say that Wizkid’s success runs side-by-side with the emergence of Nigeria’s mobile entertainment market.

The Chinese brand has to engage the star power of Wizkid to push the online launch of his new product TECNO CAMON 15.

With all these, the Afrobeats singer has cemented his place as one of the top entertainers in Africa. He was ranked fifth on Forbes and Channel O’s list of the Top 10 Richest/African Artists in the year 2017. But as at 2019, Wizkid’s estimated net worth was put at over $18 million.

Despite his runaway success, there is the sincere connection you feel as Wizkid connects with his army of fans or whenever he visits his Surulere, Lagos hood to see his folks or jamming them anywhere. The pumping and patting at the back are real.

The article was first published by Operanews