Ayra Starr’s trendy album The Year I Turned 21 has been listed among the top 50 best albums by American music and entertainment magazine, Billboard.
The list compiled by Billboard staff also includes Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine, Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter, and Billie Eillish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft. A review of Ayra Starr project praised the singers’ honesty, exceptional artistry, and music diversity.
“Her self-examination is poignant, whether giving thanks to God about where she’s headed in life on the resilient single Commas, clutching her heart due to the pain of unrequited love on the Giveon-assisted “Last Heartbreak Song” or grieving her late father on tear-jerking closer The Kids Are Alright.
“While Starr’s deep, rich vocals anchor the album, she diversifies her Afropop/R&B palate by exploring other sounds, as Amapiano’s rollicking log drums power the multilingual female empowerment anthem Woman Commando (featuring Anitta and Coco Jones) and the joyfulness of highlife music is juxtaposed with melancholy melodies on Orun,” Herman Mamo wrote about the album.
The Year I Turned 21 arrived on Friday, May 31, 2024. The Sability hitmaker held a listening session in Paris, France, weeks before the official release.
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It has guest features including Afrobeats finest, Asake, American singer Coco Jones and other notable artistes. Streaming figures for the album continue to soar on Spotify and other platforms.
Melodies on the compilation include Birds Sing of Money, Goodbye (Warm Up) ft Asake, Control, Lagos Love Story, Last Heartbreak Song, Bad Vibes.
In a recent interview, Ayra stated that she chose to work with the artistes featured on the album because she had a musical soft spot for each of them.
“Everybody I collaborated with on this album, I genuinely love their sound. I say I’m the creative director of my music because I hear different things and I put different things together,” she stated.
Weeks after her 2024 single Commas started trending, Ayra stated she was working on her second studio album but held on until the end of April 2024 to reveal the title of the project as The Year I Turned 21.
The sensational performer recently grabbed three nominations ahead of the 2024 BET Awards, scheduled to take place later this month.