You know those prophets that they always tell us aren’t respected in their own home? We’ve found one of them, his name is Ayo Jay.
“Your Number”, Ayo’s first single since he signed his reported 7-figure deal with RCA, is currently #19 on the Billboard Hot R&B Songs charts. So far, the song has been a moderate success in the States – especially for a brand new artiste from a foreign country – helped in no small part by Hot 97 and other urban stations in Ayo’s home city of New York spinning the record for some weeks now.
On the surface, if you compare the single’s chart success offshore with how it has fared in Nigeria, you would say “Your Number” has been a success in Nigeria as well. I mean, the song did spend 4 months on the PlayData charts and almost cracked the top 10. But statistics are like bikinis, what they show you is important but what they do not show you, even more so. The single may have started well on local radio but the week after it peaked at #11, it dropped sharply to #56 on the charts and the whole thing went downhill from there.
The warm-up single “Fowosere” – that was more deliberately aimed at the local market by One Nation – didn’t do much better either, starting off at #86 and making little impact afterwards. Both songs faded away soon after their releases, “Your Number” was last seen on the PlayData charts on the first week of February and “Fowosere”, shortly after its release in May.
Now, it’s not clear why the record labels (One Nation and RCA) pulled the plug on promoting both songs in Nigeria early but what is clear is that Nigerians are still getting acquainted with Ayo Jay’s name, his face, his sound. So even though both records are formulaic Nigerian pop songs, I would argue that they wouldn’t have gone far even if the labels had kept pushing them.
Going forward though, the attention seems to now be on pushing Ayo in the US. “Your Number” was recently given the remix treatment, two of RCA’s prized assets Chris Brown and his doppelganger Kid Ink were placed on the record.
It’s obvious that RCA feel like they have a record that has the potential to grow further. We see Ayo’s growth potential too but in a more out-in manner, than in-out. And by out-in, I mean Wale, Jidenna even Mr. Eazi bubbled in other countries before they did in Nigeria, while in-out – Wizkid, Asa and Davido did the reverse and now have the opportunity to prosper abroad.
In recent times, the out-in growth pattern has proven more of a sure thing – if an artiste of Nigerian descent is sufficiently popular in the US urban or pop markets, Nigeria usually gravitates towards them. So Ayo Jay could yet become a household name in time if he keeps growing this way. And if there’s anything we’ve learnt the singer has on his side, it’s time.
Wale at a Johnnie Walker event in 2013, Jidenna on a flyer promoting his upcoming visit to Nigeria
In the mean time, I guess it’s safe to assume “Your Number” and “Fowosere” are busted projects in Nigeria, so it’s on to the next one for Ayo Jay and co. However, the label is far from done with “Your Number” in the US. If this remix or Ayo’s next single goes on to do well on the chart that really matters, the Billboard Hot 100, then it could do for Ayo what “Classic Man” did for Jidenna and what “Lotus Flower Bomb” did for Wale and help the singer cross over to Nigeria; in that way, Ayo Jay’s homecomings in Lagos in the near future could be just as loud and anticipated as theirs have been.