Gospel singer Eric Arubayi has passed on, he died on the evening of February 11th at Delta State University Teaching Hospital after a brief illness. Eric’s death took the industry by surprise and condolences have been pouring in from those close to him and his colleagues in the industry. The singer is survived not only by his wife of 3 years, Chinonso Arubayi, and their son but also by a decade of music. This is the essential guide to Eric Arubayi’s music career.
1. Idol West Africa Was His Big Break
In 2007, Eric became the second runner-up of singing reality TV show West African Idol, Timi Dakolo was the winner and Omawumi the second runner-up. Even though he didn’t take away the top prize, Eric was a fan favorite. His good looks, boyish charm and irresistible vocal performances ensured that he was one of the show’s finalists. Eric was expected to go on to do big things after Idol, watch him give a rousing performance of Boyz II Men’s “I’ll Make Love to You”.
2. Growing Up, Eric Adored Boyz II Men
Idol presented the best opportunity for Eric Arubeyi to become a nationwide superstar but as his career progressed, it became clearer that the soul singer preferred to perform mostly gospel and motivational music, rather than making trendier songs for the mainstream. Eric will be remembered for taking the path less traveled – while other music show alumni with a background similar to his compromised and conformed, Eric remained steadfast.
However, despite his choices as a professional, Eric Arubayi’s musical influences growing up weren’t only gospel acts, the singer never hid his admiration of 90’s R&B group Boyz II Men –
I copied their style of singing (Boyz II Men) at a time by forming a musical group of four where we did all the gymnastics and all that. I can’t really remember what we named the group.
3. Eric Has Released One Studio Album – Redefined
Four years after being a finalist on Idol, Eric came through with his debut album, Redefined. (Listen here). The 18-track project was launched in Lagos and featured guest appearances by Jesse Jagz and South African singer Sizwe Mawaza. The album mixed motivational, feel-good records with gospel sounds and spiced things up by singing emotively about love. Watch the video for the single “Number One”.
Eric Arubaye mixed soul, R&B, jazz and gospel into his first solo project, sadly the Redefined album wasn’t a very popular release and the singer wasn’t able to emulate the career successes of fellow Idol finalists Timi and Omawumi.
4. He Considers “My Everything” to be His Greatest Career Achievement
Before his untimely death, Eric was reportedly working on his second studio album on his own record label Spirit Music. The singer was three singles into that project before he passed. His last two single were “Most High” and “The Sound”, which were both released last year, while the first was “My Everything”, a praise song that Eric described as his greatest career achievement. Listen below.
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5. He Never Stopped Being A Worship Leader in Church
Even before he had gone in for Idol, Eric Arubeyi was a worship leader in his home church House on the Rock, Lagos. A career as a popular singer didn’t make him neglect this calling and Eric remained a feature in church.
One of the reasons why Eric Arubeyi is so loved, even outside the music community, is for the passion and enthusiasm he used to praise the Lord. The head pastor of House On The Rock, Pastor Paul Adefarasin spoke about the late singer during his sermon earlier today.
I hate to lose anybody. There’s no happy man like Eric… Eric is with God now. Eric cannot be resurrected, he is not coming back. He’s dead…with the Lord but he’s happy. We mourn because we miss him but Eric is in a good place now
“No happy man like Eric.” In a music career spanning roughly 10 years, he might not have reached the heights expected but in having the courage to perform his music the way it pleased his God, there’s little doubt that Eric will be joining the heavenly choir to continue where he left off on earth. May his soul rest in peace. Amen.