Lola_Rae
Lola Rae
Nigerian singer (born 1991)
Rachel Akosua Funmilola Garton (born 20 January 1991), professionally known as Lola Rae, is a Ghanaian singer. She gained recognition following the release of her debut single, "Watch My Ting Go",[1] which received critical acclaim and thus earned her a nomination for the Most Promising Female Act to Watch at the 2013 Nigeria Entertainment Awards.[2]
Lola Rae was born to a British father and a Ghanaian mother in Obalende, a suburb of Lagos, Nigeria. She attained her primary and secondary school education at St. Saviour's School, Ikoyi, and Lekki British International High School, Lagos, respectively.[3] She, however left Nigeria for England at the age of 15 to complete her university education at Central Saint Martins, where she studied fashion textiles.[4]
Lola Rae's entertainment career started as a dancer when she was joined the dancing group "Mystikal" in 2010. Mystikal Dancing Group auditioned for Britain's Got Talent,[5] where Rae sang in the competition, and judge Simon Cowell singled Mystikal Dancing group out at the semi-final. At the end of the competition, the group (Mystikal) was signed to Syco for a year. Rae turned down an invitation to The X Factor to pursue a solo career as a singer.[6][7]
On 19 November 2012, Rae released her debut hit single Watch My Ting Go, and a follow-up single titled High.[8][9] She was nominated as the "Most Promising Female Act to Watch" at the 2013 Nigeria Entertainment Awards. Her video "Watch My Ting Go" premiered on Soundcity TV on 8 January 2013 with cameo appearances from Iyanya and Emma Nyra.[10] The video was nominated at the 10th Channel O Music Video Awards.[11]
Following the "Watch My Ting Go", Rae featured Iyanya on a song titled Fi Mi Le, which earned her another nomination at the 2014 Nigeria Entertainment Awards.[12][13] She made a cameo appearance as Ice Prince's love interest in the music video for his song "More".[14]
In May 2018, Rae gave birth to a daughter.[15]
Singles
- As lead artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NGA | GHA | RSA | AUS | UK | US | US R&B/HH | |||||||
| "Watch My Ting Go" | 2012 | – | – | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||||
| "High" (featuring Bridge) |
– | – | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "Fi Mi Le" (featuring Iyanya) |
2013 | – | – | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "She Knows He Knows" | – | – | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "You Know What My Name Is" | 2015 | – | – | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "One Time" | 2016 | – | – | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
- As featured artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NGA | GHA | RSA | AUS | UK | US | US R&B/HH | |||||||
| "Ginger"[16] (BOJ featuring Lola Rae) |
2013 | – | – | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||||
| "Coupe Bibamba (Remix)" (Awilo Longomba featuring Lola Rae) |
– | – | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "Egwu" (Nizzy featuring Lola Rae) |
2014 | – | – | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Work" (TeeJay featuring Lola Rae) |
– | – | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "Pele Mo" (Danagog featuring Lola Rae) |
2015 | – | – | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
- Promotional singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NGA | GHA | RSA | AUS | UK | US | US R&B/HH | |||||||
| "Africa Rising"[17] (Davido, Tiwa Savage, Lola Rae, Sarkodie, Diamond Platnumz and Mi Casa) |
2014 | – | – | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
| Year | Award ceremony | Prize | Work/Recipient | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 2013 Channel O Africa Music Video Awards | Most Gifted Newcomer | "Watch My Ting Go" | Nominated | [18] |
| 2013 Nigeria Entertainment Awards | Most Promising Female Act to Watch | Herself | Nominated | [19] | |
| 2014 | 2014 Nigeria Entertainment Awards | Diaspora Artist of The Year | Nominated | [20] |
- "Nigeria's Lola Rae singer emerges on UK TV talent show". The BBC. 6 December 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- O., Ovie (6 December 2012). "Nigeria Entertainment Awards 2013 View Full Nominees List". notJustOk. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- Wesley-Metigboun, Shade (30 January 2015). "'I have always wanted to do music' -Lola Rae". Ecomium Magazine. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- "Deeva of the Week – Lola Rae". NaijaDeevas. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- Nwokolo, Arinze. "Everyone's talking about …..Lola Rae". Zen Magazine. Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- Sokoya, Seyi (18 August 2013). ""I want to be the female Wizkid" – Lola Rae". The Herald News. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- "Introducing Afrobeat superstar Lola Rae". MOBO. 9 June 2013. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- "LOLA RAE ALL SET TO STIR UP AFRICAN MUSIC". The Good Life. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- Aina, Iyabo (29 January 2015). "I love the crazy way Iyanya twists his waist – Lola Rae". Vanguard News. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- Ayo Jaguda (8 January 2013). "New Video: Lola Rae – Watch My Ting Go". Jaguda. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- "2013 Channel O Africa Music Video Awards". Channel O. 3 September 2013. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- "Genevieve Nnaji, Don Jazzy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tiwa Savage, Bovi, Davido – Nigeria Entertainment Awards Nominees List". BellaNaija. 29 May 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- Tyler (9 July 2013). "Lola Rae – Fimile Ft. Iyanya". tooXclusive. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- Tayo, Ayomide O. (20 February 2015). "Lola Rae: Singer says she never dated Ice Prince". Pulse Nigeria. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- "Tekno, prety girlfriend, Lola Rae blessed with baby girl". Vanguard News. 27 May 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
- Demola OG (13 April 2013). "BOJ – Ginger ft. Lola Rae (Prod by StudioMagic)". notJustOk. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- Ovie O. (25 June 2014). "VIDEO: Davido, Tiwa Savage, Lola Rae, Sarkodie, Diamond, Mi Casa – Africa Rising". notJustOk. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- "UK Afrobeat rising star Lola Rae nominated for Channel O Music Awards". Nigerian Watch. 11 September 2011. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- "And The Nominees Are…". Jaguda. 4 June 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- "Full list of winners for the NEA Awards 2014". The Nigerian Eye. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2016.