Biography: All What You Should Know About "Niniola"

Niniola Apata (born 15 December 1986), Professionally known as #Niniola, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. She participated in the sixth season of Project Fame West Africa in 2013. After releasing
her debut single "Ibadi", she was nominated for Most Promising Act to Watch at the 2015 Nigeria Entertainment Awards.

Early life and education

Niniola was born and raised in Lagos State. She attained her primary and secondary school education at Apata Memorial High School. Moreover, she earned
a bachelor of education certificate from the University of Lagos.

Career

Niniola participated in several social activities and competitions while attending secondary school. She
finished third runner-up in the sixth season of Project Fame West Africa. During the competition, she
performed a live rendition of "Limpopo" with #Kcee, and also performed her Cobhams Asuquo-produced composition "Itura". She has cited Dolly Parton,
Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, The Cranberries, Madonna, Beyoncé and Angelique Kidjo as her key musical influences.
Niniola released her debut single "Ibadi" on 19 March 2014. Produced by Sarz, the song received positive
critical reviews, topped national music charts and gained extensive airplay. Her singles "Ibadi" and
"Gbowode" were included in the soundtrack for season 2 of Gidi Up. NotJustOk included her on its list
of the 15 Artists to Watch in 2015. Niniola was nominated in the Most Promising Act to Watch
category at the 2015 Nigeria Entertainment Awards.
In 2017 Niniola went on to release another single titled MARADONA which went on to become a global
[11]hit. MARADONA enjoyed a good 13 weeks on the South African charts and was at the No.1 spot for over 6 weeks. The song MARADONA earned Niniola a BET Awards and SAMA nomination.
Since then Niniola has gone on to receive nods from International heavy weights like Drake, Timbaland and others.
In 2019 elements of her single MARADONA were sampled on the LION KING "THE GIFT Album" by
BEYONCE on the track FIND YOUR WAY BACK as she also appeared as a songwriter and composer of the
song, which has gone on to get a Grammy nomination.
Artistry
Niniola describes her style of music as Afro-house, a blend of Afrobeat and house music. Niniola's lyrics
are mostly written in Yoruba. In an online interview with Gbolahan Adeyemi of TalkGlitz Media, Niniola
said the Yoruba language makes her song's delivery beautiful.

Personal life

Niniola is the older sister of singer Teni.

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