Chidinma

Chidinma Ekile (born 2 May 1991), who is known professionally as Chidinma, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and actress.

A native of Imo State, Chidinma was born in Ketu, Kosofe, Lagos State.

A native of Imo State, Chidinma Ekile was born on 2 May 1991, in Ketu, Kosofe, Lagos State.

She is the sixth-born child of her parents and has six other siblings.

Chidinma grew up with a disciplinarian father and began singing at the age of six.

When she was 10 years old, she joined her church's choir.

Chidinma attended primary and secondary school in Ketu before relocating to Ikorodu with her family.

She worked as a business promoter in Lagos prior to auditioning for the third season of Project Fame West Africa.

She wanted to study mass communication but ended up attaining a sociology degree from the University of Lagos.

Chidinma initially declined her admission to the University of Lagos due to her advancement in Project Fame West Africa.

In an interview with YNaija, she said she has always taken school seriously and that her decision to enroll at Unilag was inevitable.

She also said music wasn't always on her agenda, but decided to give it a try after winning Project Fame.

After dying her hair red and getting a mohawk, people started perceiving her as a good girl gone bad.

In an interview posted on the Daily Independent website, she said she is still the same person and is evolving and growing as a musician.

Prior to auditioning for the third edition of Project Fame West Africa, Chidinma dreamt of being part of the reality television show.

With the help and support from a close knit friend, she left her home in Ikorodu and went to Ultima Studios.

She was among the eight thousand contestants that went that year to showcase their talents.

Subsequently, Chidinma joined 17 other contestants in the Fame Academy round.

For 10 weeks, she and the other contestants were coached by musical professionals: voice coaches, inspirational speakers, established musicians, and music business service providers.

Moreover, contestants were taught choreography and several rehearsal drills.

In 2010, she gained prominence after winning the third season of Project Fame West Africa.

Following the release of the music video for her "Emi Ni Baller" single, she became the first female musician to peak at number 1 on the MTV Base Official Naija Top 10 chart.

Chidinma was announced as the competition's winner on 26 September 2010.

In 2011, she released the Sound Sultan-assisted single "Jankoliko".

Her eponymous debut album Chidinma, released through the music platform Spinlet, was supported by the singles "Jankoliko", "Carry You Go", "Kedike" and "Run Dia Mouth".

She won a number of prizes, including ₦2.5 million, a 2011 Toyota RAV4, and a production deal.

Chidinma started working on her eponymous debut studio album, Chidinma, after releasing a collaborative project with other season three finalists.

The album was scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Chidinma spoke about the album briefly and said she put a lot of energy into it.

She worked with a number of producers, including Cobhams Asuquo, Tee-Y Mix, WazBeat and Oscar Heman Ackah.

On 22 February 2011, she released the Sound Sultan-assisted single "Jankoliko" and "Carry You Go", as the album's lead and second singles, respectively.

Both songs were written and produced by Oscar Heman Ackah.

In an interview posted on the Weekly Trust website, Chidinma said she was pleased with the positive response she received after the songs were released, and is working hard to improve her craft.

On 4 June 2011, Chidinma released the Clarence Peters-directed music video for "Jankoliko".

Chidinma won Best Female West African Act at the 2012 Kora Awards and performed "Kedike" at the ceremony.

In May 2021, Chidinma revealed on Instagram that she made a transition to gospel music and is now engaged in Christian ministry.

She released the gospel single "Jehovah Overdo" that same month.

On 20 August 2021, Chidinma released her debut extended play New Season.

Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the EP was produced entirely by Eezee Tee and comprises seven tracks.

Chidinma's second studio album Psalm 16, which was released on 14 October 2022, features collaborations with KS Bloom, Indira, and Buchi.