Some might call it imitation, others might call it homage, but there was something uniquely smooth about Lucky Yay’s solo performance on the first live show of MTN’s Next Afrobeats Star. From the moment the lights dimmed and the beat for his original track, “Lowkey,” dropped, the atmosphere shifted from a reality show to a mini-concert at the O2 Arena.
Clearly, Lucky Yay was channelling the Starboy blueprint.If you’ve been tracking his journey on the show, from the gritty auditions to surviving the brutal cuts of the PickMe stage, you would have noticed that Lucky Yay has always had a certain quiet confidence.
He is not the loudest vocalist in the room, nor is he the one doing backflips (we see you, PSamuel). Instead, he operates with “steeze”, that intangible quality of doing less but commanding more.But on this night, the similarities went from subtle to undeniable.
Draped in a fit that screamed “Lagos alte-pop star,” his posture was relaxed, almost nonchalant, mirroring the signature slouch-and-lean that Big Wiz has patented over the last decade. Then came the delivery. “Lowkey” is a mid-tempo cruiser, and Lucky Yay attacked it with those breathy, melodic runs and the trademark “Yeah yeah” ad-libs that are practically Wizkid’s sonic signature.
Lucky Yay is one of the three remaining soldiers Sarz’ team. Sarz, Wizkid’s longtime collaborator, is the producer behind Starboy’s iconic “Jaiye Jaiye” and “Beat of Life (Samba).” Of course, when you are in the studio cooking with Sarz, the “Wizkid Effect” is almost inevitable.
The beat for “Lowkey” had that dusty, rhythmic Sarz bounce that required a specific kind of pocket, a pocket Lucky Yay found effortlessly. Floating on the beat in classic Wizkid-esque lyricism and flow, he made Sarz proud.As the performance hit its climax and the energy in the room spiked, Lucky Yay pulled the ultimate “Machala” move.
In a burst of adrenaline, his shirt came off. But he didn’t just toss it; he spun it above his head, helicopter style, stalking the stage. It was a frame-for-frame reenactment of Wizkid closing out a Felabration set or shutting down a stadium tour.The judges felt it too. Puffy Tee, usually a stickler for technicalities, was won over by the sheer energy of the spectacle. Even Sarz, the man who has seen the original Starboy do this a thousand times, looked on with a smirk that said, “I taught him well.”
Is Lucky Yay the next Wizkid? That is a heavy crown to wear this early in the game. But in a competition where 12 finalists are fighting for visibility, Lucky Yay has proven he understands the most important rule of the music business – you don’t just have to sing the part; you also have to look the part. If he keeps this energy up, he might just be spinning that shirt all the way to the 150 Million Naira grand prize.
New episodes of the show go live on TVC: Saturdays 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM, Sundays 9:00 PM – 10:00 PM, HipTv: Saturdays and Sundays 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM. Also, you can vote to keep your favourite contestants in the show by heading to https://nextafrobeatsstar.com/ or downloading the MTN Next Afrobeats Star app.
