DistantNews
Support us
🇳🇬 Nigeria /Culture & Society

Why Saint Janet switched from gospel to sexually explicit songs — Backup singer

From The Punch · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • A backup singer explained that the late Nigerian musician Saint Janet switched from gospel Juju to sexually explicit songs to attract more audience engagement, bookings, and money.
  • The singer, known as Suko, said Saint Janet initially combined Juju with gospel music but struggled to gain traction, leading her to experiment with explicit themes.
  • This new style, which incorporated social events and romantic preaching, resulted in more bookings from clubs and bars, though she did not entirely abandon gospel music.

Saint Janet, a prominent Nigerian Juju and Highlife musician, shifted her musical style from gospel to sexually explicit themes primarily for commercial reasons, according to her former backup singer, Sunkanmi, known as Suko.

She started with gospel Juju.

— SukoDescribing Saint Janet's early musical career.

Suko, who has known Saint Janet for over 25 years, revealed in an interview with Alejo TV that the singer's decision was driven by a desire for increased audience engagement, more performance bookings, and higher earnings at social events. Initially, Saint Janet's band rehearsed in a Celestial Church, blending Juju with gospel music. However, their first studio recording failed to gain significant attention, leaving the cassette unused.

She is someone who is hardworking a lot. Whether we were at a beer parlour performing or at a wedding, she was always working. When we went to bars, we did not really get the reception from the audience.

— SukoExplaining Saint Janet's struggle to gain audience reception with her gospel songs.

Despite her hard work performing at various venues like weddings, bars, and beer parlors, Saint Janet's gospel songs did not resonate widely with audiences. This lack of reception prompted her to explore a different musical direction. She began incorporating explicit sexual themes and elements from social events into her performances, using them as a form of entertainment.

So, she started and founded this explicit sexual style, like a pastor style, by using people at the event to preach in her song but romantically since it was a worldly setting.

— SukoDetailing the nature of Saint Janet's new musical style.

This new approach proved successful, leading to a surge in bookings from clubs and bars. Suko emphasized that even with the success of her explicit songs, Saint Janet did not completely abandon her gospel roots, continuing to draw inspiration for gospel music. He recalled an instance where a wedding audience requested her newer style after she performed gospel songs.

Then she started getting bookings as a result of that from the clubs or bars.

— SukoHighlighting the commercial success of the new style.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog