Sarah Oyinkansola Aderibigbe (born 14 June 2002), known professionally as Ayra Starr, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter born in Benin Republic. She achieved mainstream international recognition in 2022, with the release of her hit song “Rush”. The song charted in several territories, including Switzerland, Ireland and the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number 24. It earned Starr a nomination at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards for Best African Music Performance.
In early 2021, Starr began her career with the release of her eponymous debut extended play and its lead single “Away”, which spent two consecutive weeks at number four on Nigeria’s TurnTable Top 50 chart; the song also peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Top Triller Global chart. It was followed by the release of her debut studio album, 19 & Dangerous (2021). Categorized mainly as Afropop and R&B, it received favorable critical reception and spawned two top forty hits in Nigeria. The lead single “Bloody Samaritan” peaked atop the Top 50 chart, becoming the first solo song by a female artist to reach the number-one position. In August the same year, Starr was ranked number three on Billboard’s Next Big Sound.
