Iyanya Onoyom Mbuk popularly known by his stage name Iyanya is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and performer.
Background
Iyanya was born on the 31st of October, 1986 in Calabar, Cross River State to the family of a forester father and a head mistress mother. He attended primary and secondary school. He started singing in his church choir when he was still young and eventually became the choir master of the children’s choir. He went on to study business management at the University of Calabar. Sadly he lost both his parents and his elder brother in 2008.
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Music Career
Iyanya started his music career with signing at local bars and rapping with the stage name ‘Lofty’. He went on to participate in the MTN sponsored reality TV show Project Fame and became the winner of the first edition of the show in 2008.
Winning the show gave his music career a much needed boost. His first studio album however did not do well, he was not deterred still. His follow up album Desire which was supported with top charting singles like Kukere and Your Waist were thankfully huge successes that garnered him global acclaim and made him a household name. Then the endorsements started pouring in, he signed a one year deal with Solo Phones Nigeria and also signed another one year deal with Nigeria’s first indigenous branded computers-Zinox Computers.
His third studio album Applaudise was released on the 19th of September, 2015.
Iyanya left Made Men Music Group (a record label which he co-founded with Ubi Franklin in 2011) for Don Jazzy’s Mavin Records in 2016.
Awards
- Best Pop Single award at the The Headies in 2012 Won
- Artist of the Year award at The Headies in 2013
- Hottest Single of the Year award at the Nigeria Entertainment Awards in 2013
- Best Dance in a Video award at the African Muzik Magazine Awards in 2014
Nominations
- Song of the Year award at the The Headies in 2012
- Best Contemporary Afro (Live Beats choice) award at the Nigeria Music Video Awards (NMVA) in 2012
- African Artiste of the Year award at the Ghana Music Awards in 2013
- Musician of the Year (Male) award at the City People Entertainment Awards in 2013
- Most Popular Song of the Year at the City People Entertainment Awards in 2013
- Best Use of Visual Effects Video award at the Nigeria Music Video Awards (NMVA) in 2013
- Best International Performance award at the Soul Train Music Awards in 2013
- Most Gifted Male Video award at the Channel O Music Video Awards in 2013
- Best Pop/R&B Artiste of the Year award at the Nigeria Entertainment Awards in 2013
- Best R&B/Pop Album award at The Headies in 2013
- Album of the Year award at The Headies in 2013 Nominated
- Best Pop Single award at The Headies in 2013
- Song of the Year award at The Headies in 2013
- Best High Life Video award at the Nigeria Music Video Awards (NMVA) in 2013
- Best Use of Choreography Video award at the Nigeria Music Video Awards (NMVA) in 2013
- Musician of the Year (Male) award at the City People Entertainment Awards in 2014
- Best Male West Africa award at the African Muzik Magazine Awards in 2014
- World’s Best Song award at the World Music Awards in 2014
- World’s Best Video award at the World Music Awards in 2014
- World’s Best Male Artist award at the World Music Awards in 2014
- World’s Best Live Act award at the World Music Awards in 2014
- World’s Best Entertainer of The Year award at the World Music Awards in 2014
Net Worth
Iyanya’s net worth is estimated to be N1.8 billion.
