Singer, Victor AD Speaks On His First Encounter With Davido
Reigning singer, Victor Adere widely known as Victor Ad, rose to fame after his hit song, ‘Wetin we gain’ became almost an anthem on the lips of many Nigerian youths.
In a chat with Punch, the artiste noted that attaining fame has taught him to be more careful, owing to the fact that he doesn’t want to do anything to destroy his reputation.
He said, “Fame hasn’t changed me so much; however at this stage in my career, I am very conscious of some of the things I do and the places I go to. “I am very careful because there are people who look up to me, so I wouldn’t want to do anything to embarrass myself.
“Having female admirers around me is what I’m used to; if anyone is not ready for such, then the person is not prepared to be famous. “I see both men and women as my fans generally. My parents always call me every day to advise me.”
The young musician recently got an award in Ghana. After he received the award, some of his fans made some speculations about him being celebrated in Ghana than in Nigeria. Reacting to this, he noted that he couldn’t actually say who loved him the most between Ghanaians and Nigerians.
He said, “I always knew I would get to this stage but I never knew it would happen quickly. “I can’t specifically say who loves me more but my song gained grounds in Ghana before it became a hit in Nigeria.
“I have never lived in Ghana; it was after the release of my first song I went there. It was the first country I visited outside of Nigeria. I was impressed with the level of acceptance I got from them. The song was barely two months old then.”
Speaking about some of the rejections he faced before he rose to stardom, he noted that he was banned from a live band group for a year because they felt he couldn’t sing well.
“My hit song, ‘Wetin we gain’ was basically about my struggle and how God brought me to the limelight. “After the song was released, I heard some people felt it should have been a gospel song but I am not perfect, I never said I am a gospel musician, so it is just a motivational song.
“I will always remember an experience I had in 2012 when I was a member of a live band in Warri, Delta State. There was a time I went to a club to perform; I made a mistake and the customers complained bitterly; they told me I didn’t know how to sing. The person who owned the place warned me not to come there again.
“I went back to that club one year after and I asked them to give me a chance. The keyboardist even told me he wasn’t going to play the keyboard for me because the last time he did, he almost lost his job.
“I told him not to worry that I was there with my sounds. He told me I was taking a risk that I might even get arrested if things go bad. I performed the first song and people were already impressed. The owner who warned me never to come to his place was impressed he even gave me some money N5,000 to encourage me,” the singer said.
He also talked about how he was able to achieve his collaboration with Davido.
“I am not big on collaborations; I always like people to ‘feel me’. I got a message from someone in Davido’s camp who told me they would like Davido and me to do a remix of ‘Wetin we gain’. I thought about it and decided we should do a new song because my hit song already had its own vibe.
“We came up with a song and recorded the next morning; it was a very easy and seamless process. “When I heard that some people felt my song was the reason behind the desperate search for money amongst young men in Nigeria these days, I was disappointed.
“However, I realised that even in the beginning, God created Adam and gave him Eve and when issues came up, he still blamed God for giving him a woman.
“So, no matter what an individual does in life, people will still complain. People will decide how they want to be motivated by a song,” he told Punch.
