Tiwa Savage turns rivalry to Teni over Yemi Alade, Seyi Shay

Savage

Before the arrival of Teni with her smash hit, Case, Tiwa Savage, Yemi Alade and Seyi Shay in that order were definitely the top three female contemporary secular singers in the country.

Teni has however since made a veritable case for herself to be among them and can be said to be number two now behind Savage only who isn’t ready to relinquish that cherished number one spot and will do everything in her power to keep it.

Before Teni invaded their space without tendering any apologies, the three had the most buzz about them, worked the hardest arguably, pumped in the most energy, had an insatiable appetite for the limelight and were so ambitious that they claimed the top three spots by knocking aside Omawumi who was the hottest before them and Waje who was so promising that great things were expected of her.

Teni

The challenge of the three to the two has however ensured that the two are no longer that visible to the extent even that Waje wanted to quit the music game and shocked everyone when she claimed publicly that she just didn’t have the funds to keep pushing.

As the three progressed, it became obvious they were threats to each other and they began taking steps to ensure dominance as whether we like it or not, music is all about the numbers which will determine how successful a singer will be.

Little by little, it began to filter out that there wasn’t any real friendship, how much more love between them, and it was quite disappointing to hear because in an industry where the males are said to be dominant to the detriment of the females, the successful females should be all about cooperating with themselves and also helping the upcoming females grow.

In interviews, female artists say male artists are collaborating with themselves and have more cooperation between them, yet when these same female artists want to feature an artist, they prefer to feature the males.

Alade

Waje is probably the female artist who’s really tried when it comes to featuring her fellow girls and it can’t really be said that they’ve reciprocated in like manner to her.

So, Savage, Alade and Shay who were the top three female artists until Teni’s arrival made it known through their public comments that they weren’t really into each other.

And it was also another case of Savage versus the other two. She was so successful that she was even regarded as Africa’s number one and she won the best African female artist MAMA award to prove it. In her absence while she attended to natal issues, Alade won it but immediately she came back, she won it again and no one dares to see her now as anything other than the best of the girls.

As said, through their public comments and actions, it became accepted they didn’t see eye to eye and when Shay was interviewed on Rubbin’ Minds, she said Savage is not her friend. At another time, she also made it known that a female artist was going round saying she shouldn’t be given shows and it was believed she was referring to Savage.

Likewise when she did her version of the Kizz Daniel Fuck You challenge, it was said it was Savage she attacked in it.

Word also came out at a point in time that a female artist believed to be Savage had allegedly said if she was to be featured by an artist, the artist mustn’t feature any other female artist.

Alade has also at several times hurled her own missiles at Savage. She however got it wrong once when she spoke about Savage’s backside, saying it was fake, but Savage put her in her place by telling her she didn’t have time to join issues with her.

One thing that can be said of the three is they are smart. If not, they won’t be as successful as they are so they capitalized on their rivalry to more success.

So with their unhealthy rivalry making the media and their fans happy, it was a shock to everyone when Savage brought out Alade at her Everything Savage concert in December 2019.

The act signified they were no longer at each other’s throats and in the final analysis, it meant Savage who was supposed to be superior to Alade no longer saw her as a threat so could afford to be friends with her.

This wasn’t really good for Alade’s brand, but maybe she was tired of fighting and ready to accept being second best.

And with Alade’s capitulation to Savage, it was only a matter of time before Shay would fall in line too. Since she’s closer to Alade and Alade had succumbed to their mutual rival, she probably felt no more need for war and a very good indication of her mindset now is that in her top five female artists’ quarantine playlist, she included Savage’s song, 49-99, and of course a song by Alade.

Shay

Savage’s decision to be friendly with Alade and Shay can only mean one thing. She feels she has overcome their challenge and is probably now thinking of how to overcome a greater challenge: that of Teni aka Teni The Entertainer, aka Teni Makanaki, aka Teni Dangote.

Teni is so loved by music fans that she’s accepted the way she is, doesn’t have to be fashionable, doesn’t need publicity stunts, easily wins big-time awards and is definitely on course to becoming very great.

If there’s anyone who can withstand her threat however, it’s the extremely ambitious Savage and only time will tell how this new budding war between them will pan out.