"Away" is a song by Nigerian singer Oxlade, released as the only single from his first extended play ''Oxygene'' (2020). The song was produced by Nigerian record producer Spax. It was ranked at number 23 on '' Rolling Stone''s list of 50 Best Songs of 2020, and ''TurnTable''s Yearly Top 50 chart of 2020. As of August 2021, "Away" has received over 7.9 million streams on Spotify. On 11 December 2020,

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included the song in their list of 20 Best Nigerian Songs of 2020.

Background

After having a minor breakthrough on Blaqbonez 2018 record "Mamiwota", he was approached by Bizzle Osikoya, who secured him a management and distribution deal with The Plug. He released "Away" on 20 March 2020, as the lead single off his EP Oxygene, through The Plug Entertainment. The record was produced by Spax. On 7 November 2020, Drake posted the song on his

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story, few minutes into the post,

Asa Asika Asa Asika is a Nigerian talent manager, best known as Davido's manager, also the co-founder of The Plug (subsidiaries; The Plug Entertainment, The Plug Music, and Plug Sports) and Mainland Block Party. Early life Asa Asika was born on 14 Augu ...

shared it on a tweet " Drake just posted Oxlade", and Nigerians reacted to the tweet.

Music video and synopsis

On 13 April 2020, he released the official music video to "Away", shot and directed by TG Omori. According to Oxlade, T.G asked him to sit on his lady’s lap to personify the popular saying, "behind every successful man is a woman". Tami Makinde of The Native stated, "Majority of the scenes in the video emphasises the importance of a woman in a man's life".

Composition

"Away" was named to '' Rolling Stone'' list of the 50 best songs in 2020. Elias Leight, who reviewed the song for the list, praised the lyrics' simplicity and the song's beat, and wrote that "Nigerian singer Oxlade allows just two indulgences — a pretty vocal arc before the repetitive rush of the chorus, plus a succinct guitar solo during the outro — and both are welcome."

Commercial performance

During its debut week, "Away" peaked at number two on Apple Music in Nigeria. On 30 December 2020, it debuted at number twenty three on the TurnTable Yearly Top 50 chart. "Away" is Oxlade's most popular record with over 7.9 million Spotify streams as of August 2021. Rolling Stone included the song in their list of 50 Best Songs Of 2020.

Background

Music video and synopsis

Composition

Commercial performance

Charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References