Simisola Bolatito Kosoko (née Ogunleye; born April 19, 1988), better known by her stage name Simi, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and actress, She started her career as a gospel singer, releasing her debut studio album in 2008, titled Ogaju. She also played as one of the top judges in the season 7 of Nigerian idol Tv show in 2022, She gained public recognition in 2014 after releasing “Tiff”, a song that was nominated for Best Alternative Song at The Headies 2015.
Simi signed a record deal with X3M Music in 2014, but left the label in May 2019 following the expiration of her contract, She released her second studio album Simisola on September 8, 2017, Her third studio album Omo Charlie Champagne, Vol. 1 was released to coincide with her thirty-first birthday on April 19, 2019, She launched her record label Studio Brat in June 2019.
Personal Life
Simi was born on 19 April 1988 in Ojuelegba, a suburb of Surulere, Lagos State, as the last of four children, In an interview with Juliet Ebirim of Vanguard newspaper, Simi revealed that her parents separated when she was 9 years old. She also revealed that she grew up as a tomboy.
Career
In January 2014, Simi released the 5 track EP Restless, which eventually earned her a record deal with X3M Music, The EP is composed mostly of covers recorded by popular acts, including Rihanna’s “Man Down” and Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain” Reported By Spak Media.
On January 9, 2014, Simi released two singles “Tiff” and “E No Go Funny”. Both songs received frequent airplay and were met with generally positive reviews from critics. The video for “Tiff” was directed by Josh Clarke and released on August 30, 2015, The song was nominated for Best Alternative Song at the 2015 edition of The Headies.
Later in 2015, Simi won the Most Promising Act to Watch category at the 2015 Nigeria Entertainment Awards. In an interview with Leadership newspaper, Simi revealed that she started working on her second studio album, which was slated for release in 2016, Upon releasing “Jamb Question”, Simi was listed as one of the artistes to watch out for in 2016 by KossyDerrickent. The remix of “Jamb Question” features Nigerian rapper Falz.
On February 14, 2016, Simi released the Oscar Heman Ackah-produced love ballad “Love Don’t Care”. It received frequent radio airplay and was met with positive reviews, “Love Don’t Care” effectively addresses tribalism and discrimination in Nigeria.
The song’s music video was directed by Clarence Peters. In October 2016, Simi was nominated for Best Breakthrough Act at the MTV Africa Music Awards, On October 27, Simi collaborated with Falz to release the extended play Chemistry. Oghene Michael of 360 Nobs described the EP as an “experiment of the word art”, In December 2016, Simi was nominated in three categories at The Headies 2016, winning one.
