Sensational Ayra Starr has had several music collaborations in her young career but still yearns to work with other top acts in the industry, both within and outside the continent.
Outside Africa, her list of top musicians she aspires to work with includes Rihanna, Drake, Victoria Monet, Miley Cyrus, Beyonce, and Kendrick Lamar. Other artistes doing well on the continent, like Burna Boy, Rema, and Tyler The Creator, are also on her radar.
These names readily came to mind as the singer spoke in a recent interview. She, however, noted that there were many other musicians beyond the top 10 list provided, and she wouldn’t mind working with them all.
The artistes on her top 10 list are all award winners who will ultimately shore up her career and performance if any of the collaborations do happen.
In the same interview, the Grammy nominee also explained how she came by her stage name, Ayra Starr. According to her, the name came from Google while she was doing a search.
Related stories
“I literally googled the name and I liked it…There is this Yoruba name called ‘Ira’ but I wanted people to pronounce it as ‘Ayra’ but I knew they were not going to pronounce it that way. So I was like how can I spell it for them to pronounce it [that way].
“I googled the name ‘Ayra’ and discovered it is an Arabic name which means open-minded, respected; it just fit so much so I was like is this my name?” she stated, adding that she settled on the name Ayra Starr, based on this finding.
Ayra Starr’s official name is Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe. Some followers on social media recently teased her for having a “jaw-breaking” name, saying it was appropriate she settled on a more relatable stage name.
The exciting singer has been exceptional with her Commas single, which has reached 17 million streams on Spotify and is ranked among the top Afrobeats songs so far released in 2024.
Ayra has collaborated with performers like American singer, Kelly Rowland on the song Bloody Civilian, and with Nigerian compatriots like Ckay, Zinoleesky, and others.