John Ighodaro (born July 5, 1990), professionally known as Johnny Drille, is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

singer and songwriter. His career came into the spotlight when he released a cover of "Awww" by

Di'Ja Hadiza Blell, now Hadiza Blell-Olo, better known by her stage name Di'Ja, is a Nigerian singer. She is currently signed to Mavin Records. In 2009, she released her first single "Rock Steady", which was nominated for Best Urban/R&B Single at th ...

. He is currently signed to

Mavin Records Mavin Records (also known as the Supreme Mavin Dynasty) is a Nigerian Music industry, music corporation record label founded by record producer and recording artist Don Jazzy on 8 May 2012. The label's inception came to fruition following the clo ...

Early life

Johnny Drille was born and raised in

Edo State Edo, commonly known as Edo State, is a state located in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. As of 2006 National population census, the state was ranked as the 24th populated state (3,233,366) in Nigeria, However there was controversy ...

, Nigeria. His father is a school principal and clergyman. He has four siblings. Drille started singing in his father's church at an early age.

Education

He attended the University of Benin,

Benin City Benin City is the capital and largest city of Edo State, Edo State, Nigeria. It is the fourth-largest city in Nigeria according to the 2006 census, after Lagos, Kano (city), Kano, and Ibadan, with a population estimate of about 3,500,000 as of ...

, where he studied English and Literature.

Career

Drille began his musical career in church. He was one of the contestants on the sixth season of ''

Project Fame West Africa ''Project Fame'', also known as ''Project Fame West Africa'' or ''MTN Project Fame West Africa'' (for sponsorship purposes), is a music talent TV reality show filmed in Lagos and aired in the West African subcontinent. It is a regional version of ...

'' in 2013. In 2015, he released a cover of

's "Awww", which caught the attention of Mavin's CEO

Don Jazzy Michael Collins Ajereh (born 26 November 1982), known professionally as Don Jazzy, is a Nigerian record producer. He is the founder and the CEO of Mavin Records. Don Jazzy was co-owner of the now-defunct Mo' Hits Records record label with D'b ...

. His debut single "Wait for Me" was released in 2015. It was nominated for Best Alternative Song at

The Headies 2016 The Headies 2016 was the 11th edition of The Headies. It was held on December 22, 2016, at the Eko Convention Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos. Themed "Think, Create, Recreate", the event was hosted by Adesua Etomi and Falz. The nominees were an ...

. He teamed up with

Niniola Niniola Apata (born 15 December 1986), known professionally as Niniola, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. She participated in the sixth season of ''Project Fame West Africa'' in 2013. After releasing her debut single "Ibadi", she was nominated ...

, a fellow season 6 contestant, to record "Start All Over". In February 2017, he signed a record deal with Mavin Records. On September 3, 2021, he released his debut album, which consists of a fourteen track project, before we fall asleep featuring Nigerian and artists, Ayra Starr, Ladipoe, Lagos community choir, Don Jazzy,Chylde,Kwitte, Cilsoul and the classic afro R&B group, Syl plus under the label Mavin Records.

Discography

Album

EP

Singles

*2015 – "Wait for Me" *2015 - "Love Don't Lie" *2016 – "My Beautiful Love" *2016 - "Start All Over (Featuring Niniola) *2017 – "Romeo & Juliet" *2018 – "Halleluya" (featuring Simi) *2018 – "Awa Love" *2019 - "Forever" *2019 - "Shine" *2019 - "Finding Efe" *2019 - "Papa" *2019 - "Dear Future Wife" *2019 - "Count on You" *2020 - "Something Better" *2020 - "Mystery Girl" *2021 - "Bad Dancer" *2021 - "Loving Is Harder" *2022 - "How Are You (My Friend)"

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drille, Johnny 1990 births People from Edo State Living people Nigerian male singer-songwriters Nigerian singer-songwriters University of Benin (Nigeria) alumni Nigerian alté singers