Two weeks before releasing her new album Starrgirl, the Nigerian star posted a photo from a hospital bed. She had just undergone what she described as “major surgery.”I was hoping it would be a quick recovery, but it was more complicated than they expected,” she told fans, without going into details.
Seven days later she was back in the dance studio, rehearsing with a large bandage across her stomach. TV appearances, fan meetups and live shows followed.
It fits the story she’s been writing since she was 18. Discovered singing covers on YouTube, Starr became the first African woman to win Best International Act at the MOBOs. She was the first Nigerian woman to pass one billion views on YouTube. In 2024 she became the first Afrobeats artist to play Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage, ending her set by promising she’d return as a headliner. Last year she closed London Fashion Week for Di Petsa in white lace, flanked by models dressed as angels.
That mix of grit and spectacle is what she brings into a room. In conversation she is confident to the point of cosmic — “I’m unstoppable,” “I will exist in multitudes” — but undercut by a dry, quick sarcasm.
Take the time Grammy nominee Stevie Wonder called to congratulate her. Instead of a polite thank-you, Starr turned it into a debate about zodiac sign that irreverence hasn’t stopped doors from opening. She’s toured with Coldplay — Chris Martin even gave notes on songs from her 2024 album The Year I Turned 21. She’s worked with Tyla, David Guetta, Le Sserafim and Kelly Rowland.
Starrgirl, her first album under Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and her first made largely from her new base in New York, pushes that circle wider. It features Wizkid and Rema, Zayn Malik, and rising R&B singer KWN.
The move was about sound as much as business. She wanted new textures. On Where Do We Go, an Afrobeats rhythm slides over a hypnotic electronic pulse.
“Like, the rebel I am, I love to juxtapose,” she says. “I don’t like being normal and boring. So the idea of writing a heartbreak song on a beat like that, where you can dance to it, was just very enticing.”
“It’s all too easy to settle for an imperfect partner because they’re a comfortable and familiar presence,” she says. “You’re back to square one, and somebody’s asking for your favourite colour again. I’m like, ‘Oh my God! Can we, like, not do that
“When you let yourself go, romantically and emotionally, it affects you physically, and the music, and all of that. So even though I enjoyed it while it lasted, I picked my priorities… and that relationship wasn’t as important as the music.”
That tension runs through Starrgirl. After Rush blew up and The Year I Turned 21 cemented her as a global pop name, Starr felt the pressure to repeat herself.
“Passive listeners get attached to the songs they know. Then you’re stuck between creating for the passive listeners and creating for your core fans who want you to do more. That can limit you, because you stop thinking as an artist and start thinking about making music just for consumers.
She left behind teenage angst and polished poise for something looser. On Misunderstood she laughs off doubters. On Treasure she slows down to enjoy the moment: “Give me some fun / Pure enjoyment / Take a photo of me,” she sings in Yoruba.
The album’s most viral moment so far is Ms Paper. It veers into bouyon — the high-tempo Dominican style — and it was made almost by accident. After a session with French-Congolese artist Theodora in Los Angeles, the studio AC broke in February heat.
“The AC in the studio wasn’t working, so everybody’s delirious, everybody’s sweating, everybody’s drunk,” Starr says. “At one point we’re probably taking off tops. I changed outfit twice because I was drenched in sweat.”
The chaos made it into the track. Clips online have already taken off, and with it came the familiar criticism back home: that she’s chasing global sounds at the expense of her roots.
“People have a certain template they think I should follow, and it’s like, you cannot tell me how to dream,” she says. “I’m able to honour my culture, but also try new things, because that’s who I am.
“I wanted young girls in Kwara State or Erin-Ile to see this and feel represented,” she told Capital Xtra. “I’m not the first to do it, I won’t be the last to do it – but I want people to feel confident in their culture and wear the gele like the crown that it is.
At 24, Starr has already stacked firsts, and survived a surgery that could have sidelined her release. What ties it together is the same line she sings on Amazing: “If they’re gonna talk, I’ll give them something to talk about.”
“That’s definitely my mantra,” she says. “And do you know what? I think I need to listen to myself more because I have all the answers in my music.”
Starrgirl isn’t about chasing one template. It’s about walking to her own rhythm — through heartbreak, through recovery, through expectation — and daring the world to keep up.
