Damibliz performs alongside Wizkid at o2 Arena

Damibliz performs alongside Wizkid at o2 Arena

On Wednesday, 1st December, Peckham-based Nigerian-music-act, Damibliz opened the last show of Wizkid at o2 Arena.

 

Ayodeji Balogun popularly known as Wizkid performed his ‘Made in Lagos’ concert in front of a sold-out crowd of 20,000 capacity at the London 02 Arena, raking in a record N5.2billion in gross earnings.

 

The three-day music event was held from November 28 to December 1, 2021 and Damibliz was fully booked to remind the ‘fully armed’ audience.

 

Taking to Instagram, the “Jowabayi” coroner said;

Shut down the O2 arena for the third time!!

Shout out to @dj_tunez @wizkidayo

Thank you for all you do for afrobeats

I left it all on the stage.

Don’t forget to stream my new project #money

 

Money is a new jam by Damibliz which is being promoted by the Daramin Records and reviews note that its a lively jam to make ‘massive wave’.



Watch Damibliz perform at o2 Arena below:

Wizkid selling out a 3-day event at a 20,000 capacity arena opens up doors to bigger venues for Nigerian music artistes to perform and earn more revenues from music tours. And with the huge streaming numbers on platforms like Apple Music, Spotify, and Deezer, getting sold-out tickets in venues like Wembley and the AT & T stadium doesn’t feel like a dream too far to reach.

 

The success of the concert has seen ripple effects on streaming platforms like Apple Music Uk Worldwide rank putting Essence at number one and the album Made in Lagos Deluxe at number one on the album category of that location.

 

Music Business

Online ticket sales for the various tiers and locations at the arena ranged from $108 to $270. While the Arena floor section had a capacity of more than 5,200 people and sold for an average of $239 (N97,963 at N411/$) per seat. The lower tier of more than 8,800 seats sold for an average of $170 (N69,681). The upper tier of almost 6,000 seat capacity sold for an average of $250 (N102,472).

 

BusinessDay calculation found that the revenue for each section of the Arena comes to N509,407,600 for the floor section, N613,192,800 for the lower tier, and N614,832,000 for the upper tier. This comes to a total of N1,737,432,400 for the first day, and N5,212,297,200 in gross earnings for the three days the show lasted.

 

MTN and Udux teamed up with Wizkid two days before the event to stream the concert live on the Nigerian streaming platform, allowing thousands of people who couldn’t attend to watch the show on their phones.

 

The concert saw him perform songs from his ‘Made in Lagos’ album and other songs from his previous works. Other performances from Chris Brown, which was his first performance in London in 12 years, Skepta, Ella Mai, Buju, shook up the music event and attracted celebrities from around the world like Hollywood actress Gabrielle Union, Stormzy, and Chelsea football club forward Romelu Lukaku.



Afrobeats has indeed got the world’s attention with big award wins and nominations at BET’s Soul Train Awards and Grammy nominations and it’s important to keep up with that relevance with world tours and concerts.

 

It’s no news that the bulk of revenues for artistes from streaming platforms are generated from worldwide users who are the majority of subscribers and pay as much as $9.99 (N4,106) monthly against local subscribers who pay N900 for basic subscription and a maximum of N1200 for a premium offer.

 

Tours and concerts are important aspects of their career that can be a lucrative source of income when organised perfectly and not only do they foster a bond between artistes and long-time fans in the diaspora during these events, but also allow the musicians to reach out to new audiences.

 

Ticket sales for this Wizkid  concert event were first announced on July 27 and started sales online on August 6. In less than 12 minutes, the tickets for the 20,000 capacity were sold out making him the 7th highest artiste globally to sell out the arena in under 15 minutes.

 

Other artistes in that category are Beyoncé (12 minutes), Rihanna (10 minutes), The Rolling Stones (7 minutes), Gary Barlow (6 minutes), Monty Python (43 seconds), and Spice girls for the record 38 seconds

 

African music fans living in the United Kingdom who didn’t get to buy the tickets went online to ask for extra days as most of them didn’t get to buy tickets when the record sell-out of any Nigerian act abroad happened.

 

Security

Fans of the Nigerian singer Wizkid breached security at the O2 Arena on Sunday night, breaking into his gig.



Videos posted to social media showed a stream of people dodging security barriers and charging their way in.

Damibliz performs alongside Wizkid at o2 Arena
Damibliz performs alongside Wizkid at o2 Arena

The performer, who featured on Drake’s number one hit One Dance, is playing a three-night stand at the London venue.

 

A spokeswoman said “a breach of the security cordon on the arena entrance occurred” and “a number of fans in the queue were able to enter the venue”.

 

“The situation was quickly contained by staff and the incident resolved,” she added, in a statement given to the BBC on Monday.

 

“The venue is reviewing security procedures for the remaining shows this week and advises fans to arrive early for security checks tomorrow night and again on Wednesday.”

 

Performance

From his dramatic entrance to the stage, his tribute to recently deceased fashion designer, Virgil Abloh, to electrifying performances, and surprise appearances from Hollywood’s biggest stars, it is safe to say that Wizkid had quite an eventful night.

 

Wizkid brought to the stage with him other artistes like American Superstar Chris Brown. He also brought hit maker Tems, Buju with the Golden Voice, British Singer Ella Mai, and British rapper Skepta who all featured in his ‘Made In Lagos’ album, as he performed songs from there.

 

Tems and Wizkid sang their hit song ‘Essence’, to the delight of fans who couldn’t help but sing along to the song which was dubbed “the song of the summer” by Justin Bieber.

 

He brought Buju on stage as for ‘Mood’, in a moment that Buju described as career-defining. The artiste took his Instagram page @bujutoyourears to share pictures of the performance, with the caption.

 

“Shey Buju ko niyen? 20,000 plus DEEEP!! Singing back to me!! Grace, hard work and constant support from my people brought me here and I’m not going back!! @wizkidayo HIGHESTT (eagle) Love you forever!!”.

 

Besides performing songs from his first album ‘Super Star’, Wizkid proved that he had more surprises in store for his fans, when he invited to the stage, Chris Brown who he recognised as the first guy to ever show him love internationally, and his real brother for 10 years. Breezy performed his own rendition of ‘Go Crazy’ which was a song he originally sang with Young Thug.

 

After the performance, Chris Brown shared a message for Wizkid on his Instagram page @chrisbrownofficial which read,

“So FU**ing proud/thankful of/for my bro @wizkidayo for his achievements, we been homies for 10 years +. LONDON I CAN’T EVEN BEGIN TO THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR THE LOVE YALL HAVE SHOWED ME. Truly a moment I will forever be grateful for. #breezyseason”.



Other performances for the night were Ella Mai and Wizkid’ssong ‘Piece Of Me’ and ‘Long Time’ featuring Skepta.

 

Notable star appearances during the event included that of British rapper Stormzy, and footballer Lukaku. Super model, Naomi Campbell attended the show as well and got herself acquainted with Big Wiz.

 

Hollywood actress Gabrielle Union-Wade was also in attendance, and she even visited Wizkid backstage to congratulate him for a successful performance. Both stars hung out for a few hours, and Gabrielle stole the hearts of Nigerians after she said she wanted to visit Nigeria to get the full treatment.

 

At the end of day one, a grateful Wizkid shared stills from the ’Made In Lagos’ concert on his Instagram page, @wizkidayo with the caption, “Last Night was emotional! Thank you, London! We go again tonight! I got more for you!’’

Damibliz performs alongside Wizkid at o2 Arena
Damibliz performs alongside Wizkid at o2 Arena

While Damibliz performed for the third time, fast-rising singer, Akinbiyi Ahmed, popularly known as Bella Shmurda, made his debut at the O2 Arena, London on Monday night.

 

His performance was one of the high points at the day 2 of Wizkid’s Made in Lagos concert.

 

Expressing his excitement for this opportunity, Bella Shmurda took to his Twitter page to thank Ayo Balogun, popularly known as Wizkid, for the opportunity.

 

He wrote, “Maybe it wasn’t just Vision 2020. Up and beyond from here! Thank you Mr Balo @wizkidayo.”

 

Bella Shmurda broke into the music industry with the release of his song, “Vision 2020”, and his hit track, “Cash App”, gained him more prominence.

 

Therefore, it was no surprise that the singer performed “Cash App” at his O2 Arena debut performance.

 

The buzzing crowd sang along as the excited Bella Shmurda made an energetic performance.

 

Sharing the video of his performance on Tuesday, Bella Shmurda said, “Today, I realise this thing ain’t thug of war. @wizkidayo I will never forget this.”



Tems Matter

Meanwhile, Nigerians have accused Wizkid of making unwelcome and inappropriate sexual advances towards Tems.

 

Nigerians made the remarks while reacting to a video of Wizkid and Tems performing their song titled Essence at the O2 Arena, London.

 

In the video, Wizkid moved closer to Tems and attempted to carry her by putting his hands beneath her buttocks.

 

However, Tems quickly removed his hands and she appeared uncomfortable afterward.

 

Watch the scene below:

Nigerians, however, took to social media to knock Wizkid and demand an apology.

 

A commentator with the handle @hrmmodupe wrote: “Why would he do that??? Very inappropriate. Stop touching women without permission.”

 

melcarsson_: “It was inappropriate and embarrassing… I thought by now he should know Tems carries herself different.”

 

baby.girl.kai.i: “I’m an FC but Wizkid needs to apologize for this! I felt somehow for Tems, imagine Tems that was now on stage.”

 

Onyi Alex: “That was wrong..she didn’t like it.”

 

Jeromemuma: She wasn’t comfortable😢😢

 

Adunnimckinson: “That’s trash behavior !!”

 

Tems has always made it clear on how she’d like people to interact with her. Really unfair for boundary to be crossed.

— Olúwatósìn Olaseinde (@tosinolaseinde) December 1, 2021

 

I’m sorry Tems had to go through this, Men should leave to keep their hands to themselves regardless of big yansh

Wizkid should do better

Sending her love and light.. Go Queen, Yassss ❤️❤️

— 🇰🇼. (@Zino5pf) December 2, 2021

Tems was like we don’t do that here fam.

— mazi Ibe (@maziibe_) December 1, 2021

 

choco.xsta said, “Is it just me or she looked uncomfortable?”



Hirohaven noted, “Why did he have to be handsy though wasn’t sexy? It was a bit creepy and she obviously wasn’t feeling it. Just platform the jam and shake body oga.”

 

Buchifitness stated, “She looked so uncomfortable with everything, I am sure they will have a conversation backstage.”

 

Mrlotanna said, “She looked really uncomfortable though, must he touch her?”

Anyways, the show offered spectacle and a fervent atmosphere, even if one special guest was in poor taste.

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