(Davido. Photo Credit: The Sun Nigeria)
Afrobeats singer David Adeleke, also known as Davido, has spoken up about one of the most difficult times in his early career, confessing that the overwhelming attention that came with unexpected stardom once drove him to the brink of despair.
In a recent interview posted on YouTube on Thursday, the singer described how a private experience from one of his first international visits became public, leaving him profoundly devastated.
He stated that the incident occurred just two months after his breakout songs catapulted him to popularity, when he traveled to Ghana for a performance.
At the time, he explained, he had only released a couple of songs, but they had become massive hits across Africa, comparing his output then to just one or two records that turned out to be among the biggest of his career.
The singer said he was taken aback by the reception he received on arrival, likening the excitement around him to that surrounding global pop icons like Michael Jackson or Justin Bieber, which made him feel his career was truly taking off.
He said each week brought fresh milestones as his popularity kept climbing, describing the constant excitement of watching his songs rise higher on the charts.
He admitted that the sudden admiration from fans, especially women, was also something entirely new to him at the time.
Narrating the incident further, Davido said that after a night out at a nightclub during the Ghana trip, he spent the night with a woman, describing it as his first experience of that kind.
He said his manager woke him up the next morning with disturbing news, initially trying to calm him down.
He explained that the woman had reportedly told others she was with Davido, and when they doubted her, she took a photograph of him while he was asleep to prove it.
The image quickly circulated, prompting worried calls from his father and sisters.
Davido admitted the experience left him devastated and overwhelmed at the time, saying that had there been a balcony nearby that day, he might have jumped, describing himself as having felt like he was going crazy.
Reflecting on the episode, he said his youthful lifestyle at the time played a role in the lesson he eventually learned, adding that he believes the experience was God’s way of shaping him, since he was young and overly fond of women at the time.
He said the episode taught him a lasting lesson about protecting his privacy as a public figure, advising that young, famous individuals are often targets, and that even while having fun, one should be cautious, including taking people’s phones.