Teni The Entertainer Drops Debut Album Wonderland.
By Phumzile Mavimbela
Nigerian superstar TENI THE ENTERTAINER has unveiled her hotly anticipated debut album WONDALAND, out. The album follows the global success of TENI’s collaboration with Davido on single ‘For You’ which so far has accrued over 14M streams and is currently the number 1 song in Nigeria, topped charts on Apple Music Nigeria, Audiomack and The Triller Chart Nigeria, plus debuted top 10 on Official UK Afrobeats Chart Top 20 and Triller Global Chart.
A sprawling, 17-track release, WONDALANDopens with ‘Maja’, an idyllic track that combines birdsong, delicate piano chords and TENI’s hushed tones. Continuing with the poignant vibes, next up is her acclaimed recent single ‘For You’ featuring fellow Afrobeats star Davido, with the duo trading pitch-perfect vocals amongst blissed-out acoustic production. Lead track ‘Moslado’ ups the dancefloor energy with some vibrant percussion.
Further highlights come in the form of the joyful ‘Hustle’, seductive vibes of ‘100 Meters’, emotion-drenched ‘Dad’s Song’ and empowering ‘XXXL’ before things are closed out with the gospel-led, heart-on-sleeve vibes of ‘BLACK’.
Having worked on the project for two years across 7 cities around the world - London, New York, Dubai, Orlando, Ondo, Lagos and Abuja - TENI sees the album as a labour of love and something that will take the listener on a rollercoaster of emotions from start to finish.
TENI explains: “I wanted to do an album that anyone from my mother’s hometown in Ondo or my dad’s in Ekiti to Osaka, Japan can pick up and be entertained, inspired and educated. You can’t record your debut album again so I ensured WONDALAND will be that album I would listen to in 20 years and it’ll still sound just as fresh. I wanted to make an evergreen record that represented my roots, showed my growth and where I am heading to because I believe this is just the beginning of great things to come."
She continues: “It’s an album that doesn’t sound like anything you have ever heard not just because it’s coming from an African artiste but because it’s just pure and unadulterated music from the bottom of my heart. I have been working on this album for 2 years across 7 cities in the world - London, New York, Orlando, Dubai, Ondo, Lagos and Abuja. However, I was able to finish the album during the lockdown… I want to see old and young people shed a tear, laugh, dance and relate and see themselves in the songs and the videos to come. Welcome to my WONDALAND.”
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