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Stanley Omah Didia, known professionally as Omah Lay, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. He gained widespread recognition in early 2020 after his self-produced single, "Bad Influence", went viral on social media.[1] He is also known for being featured alongside Alpha P on the official Masterkraft's remix of Justin Bieber's 2021 single, "Peaches", as well as another collaboration with the latter on "Attention" in 2022. Lay won the Next Rated award at the 2020 Headies Awards.[2]

Omah Lay
Background information
Born	Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria
Genres	Afrobeats R&B
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter record producer
Years active	2019–present
Labels	Keyqaad KXI

Early life

Stanley Omah Didia was raised in the Nigerian city of Port Harcourt. He hails from Ikwerre, Rivers Local Government Area in Rivers State.[1] He attended Comprehensive High School in Rivers State before proceeding to the University of Port Harcourt.[3] He comes from a musical family and his grandfather played instruments for the singer Celestine Ukwu before he died in 1977. Lay's father played the drums.[4]

Career

Lay started out in a rap group under the stage name "Lil King." He later moved on to songwriting and music producing, which went largely uncredited, and as a result of that, he released "Do Not Disturb" in April 2019. "Hello Brother" was released a month after.

He signed to a record label named KeyQaad in June 2019, and took a seven month break.[1][5] During the break, he worked on his debut EP, Get Layd. He told OkayAfrica, "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. The first song I'd recorded on Get Layd was 'Bad Influence.' I'd done that way before the songs we had to put on the project."[6] Following the break, he released "Bad Influence," which became the most streamed Nigerian song on Apple Music at the end of 2020.[7]

On 14 February 2020, Lay released "You," his first official single. He released his five-track debut EP, Get Layd on 22 May 2020.[8] The EP peaked at number one on the Nigerian Apple Music charts.[1] All five songs from the EP reached the top 15 of the Apple Music charts for Nigeria, with "You" peaking at number one.[9]

In October, Lay appeared on Olamide's album Carpe Diem, on the track "Infinity", which topped the Apple Music charts for Nigeria.[10]

On 20 November, 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.[11]

On 3 July 2020, Lay was the first artist highlighted for Apple's Africa Rising Campaign to spotlight African talent.[12][13] In December 2020, he was included in BBC Radio 1Xtra's annual "Hot for 2021" list.[14] He was the first African artist featured on Audiomack's #Up Now program for emerging artists;[15] was included in Montreux Jazz Festival's "20 artists to watch in 2021";[16] and was named BET's Amplified International Artist of the Month for November 2020.[17] He is currently signed to Dvpper Music Distribution in Nigeria,[5][3] and Sire Records for international distribution.[18] He was nominated in four categories at the 2020 Headies Awards, winning the Next Rated award.[19]

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".[20][21] On 3 March 2022, he released a collaboration with Bieber, "Attention", which serves as the second collaboration between the two artists.[22]

Controversy

On 14 December 2020, Lay was arrested alongside[23] 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.[24][25] Two days later, the Ugandan government released the two, apologised for the arrests and cleared them of wrongdoing.[26]

Political views

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."[27]

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Album details
Boy Alone	Released: July 15, 2022 Label: Sire, KeyQaad Format: Digital download, streaming

Extended plays

Title	Extended play details
Get Layd[1]	Released: 22 May 2020 Label: Sire, KeyQaad Format: Digital download, streaming
What Have We Done[28]	Released: 20 November 2020 Label: Sire, KeyQaad Format: Digital download, streaming

Singles

As lead artist

List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions, sales, certifications, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Peak chart positions							Album
		CAN [29]	IRE [30]	NZ Hot [31]	SWE [32]	UK [33]	US Bub. [34]	WW [35]
"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"		—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Winter Wonderland / Don't Worry Be Happy"		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Non-album single
"Attention" (with Justin Bieber)	2022	45	78	9	87	76	11	74	Boy Alone
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

As featured artist

List of singles as featured artist, with selected chart positions and certifications shown

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

Guest appearances

List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Other artist(s)	Album
"Infinity"	2020	Olamide	Carpe Diem
"Abeg"	2021	DJ Neptune, Joeboy	Greatness 2.0

Production discography

2018

Kidoben Ace

• "Caught Up"

2019

Klug Ali

• "Opium"

Sikiboi

• "One Day"

2020

Omah Lay – Get Layd

• 2. "Lo Lo"
• 4. "Bad Influence"

Moveek

• "Flossin"

Omah Lay – What Have We Done

• 4. "Confession"

2021

Jhay Jhay

• "Welcum Party"

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee/work	Result	Ref
2020	The Headies	Next Rated	Omah Lay	Won	[2]
		Viewer's Choice		Nominated	[36]
		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	[37]
	MTV Africa Music Awards	Best Breakthrough Act		Pending	[38]
	Net Honours	Most Played Pop Song	''Godly"	Won	[39]
		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	[40]
		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	[41]

References

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