David ‘Davido’ Adeleke, a Nigerian Afropop singer, says he had to pay £55,000 at his January concert that held at the O2 Arena for the show to start late.
The ‘Fall’ singer, who is currently on a tour in the United States, told New York’s DJ Ebro that he had to do so to avoid performing to a half-filled hall.
“I was scared though, because … first of all, you know how we Africans do, we’re always late, we take time,” he said in an interview with Hot 97 FM.
“They said I gotta get on stage by 8, and I said alright and then by 8 o’clock my boy come tell me that brother you can’t go on stage right now and I say what you mean, he said brother everybody is still walking around, I looked at the stadium, half empty. I was going crazy.”
He explained that he had to pay £55,000, which was the cost for a 55-minute extension.
“I’ll pay two hundred thousand pounds in this place. Me, the way I know my people, people want me to fail.
“If I go on that stage that place is half empty, somebody will take that picture and that picture will go father than anything. I waited till that place was filled.
“I waited for about an hour and thirty before we started. I’d rather pay the fine because people don’t want you to win. Negativity goes way farther than positivity.”
The 26-year-old singer, who described his father as his biggest fan, said his global success began when he decided to focus on Nigeria.
“When I was out here (in America) for like eight months, nothing really happened. But it was when I decided to finally go back home. When I got back home to do what I do, then people started sending me snaps that yo, I’m hearing your songs every day.”