"Oliver Twist" is a song by

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-songwriter

D'banj Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo (born 9 June 1980), better known by his stage name D'banj, is a Nigerian singer and rapper and the founder of Mo' Hits Records with producer Don Jazzy. He has won several music awards, including the awards for ''Best A ...

. The track was first released in the United Kingdom on 11 May 2012, as the first single from DB Records' compilation album, ''

D'Kings Men ''D'Kings Men'' is a compilation album by Nigerian record label DB Records. It was released on June 24, 2013, by the label and Sony. The album was produced by Don Jazzy, Jay Sleek and Dee Vee. It features guest appearances from Kanye West, Big S ...

'' (2013). For the chart week dated 26 May, "Oliver Twist" debuted at number nine on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

—marking the musician's first chart appearance and first Nigerian song to ever debut on the chart. Lyrically, the song expresses D'banj's crave for more women, relating to how the fictional character '' Oliver Twist'' asked for more gruel.

Track listing

Critical reception

Robert Copsey of Digital Spy gave the song a positive review, stating:

As such, his first release on these shores is a confident debut. "I have a confession," he admits over a hypnotic, afrobeat-meets-hip-hop riff, before reeling off a list of famous ladies he wouldn't mind getting better acquainted with – including Beyoncé, Rihanna and
Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated Flow (rapping), flow in her rapping, alter e ...
("her yansh is bigger," after all). Given it's near-impossible to resist the hip-shaking melody and bum-wobbling hooks, we can't imagine he'll have much trouble winning them over.

Music video

A music video, directed by

Sesan Ogunro Sesan Ogunro (born 11 January 1983) is a Nigerian music video director based in the United Kingdom, often credited for his work as Sesan. He has directed music videos for Afrobeats genre artists such as D'Banj, Wizkid, Tiwa Savage and Davido. ...

, to accompany the release of "Oliver Twist" was first released onto YouTube on 19 March 2012. The video itself runs for a total of three minutes and fifty-five seconds and sees the artist, D'banj, performing the track in an empty studio designed as a run down home. It is performed in the key of G# Minor throughout the entire song. A member of D'banj's live set (David Vujanic) makes an appearance dressed as Oliver Twist, whilst the

CEO Dancers Dancer Soliat Bada appearing on NdaniTV in 2018 The CEO Dancers is a London-based trio of female dancers and choreographers who rose to recognition following their performance at '' Britain's Got Talent 2013'' which saw them reach the semi-final ...

(three female dancers) perform to the track. In August 2013, the music video surpassed 21.5 million views making it the Nigerian song with highest number of views on YouTube at the time. , it has more than 53 million views. The video features cameos from D'banj's

GOOD Music GOOD Music (also known simply as GOOD, stylized as G.O.O.D. Music; a backronym for Getting Out Our Dreams) is an American record label founded by rapper Kanye West in 2004. The label signed an exclusive long-term worldwide label agreement with t ...

label mates

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. Anderson began his music career in 2007 and gained popularity in 2010 with his third mixtape '' Finally Famous Vol. 3: Big''. He then s ...

Pusha T Terrence LeVarr Thornton (born May 13, 1977), better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American rapper, songwriter and record executive. He rose to prominence as one-half of the hip hop duo Clipse, which was mainly active from 1994 to 201 ...

producer

Hit-Boy Chauncey Alexander Hollis Jr. (born May 21, 1987), better known by his stage name Hit-Boy, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. In May 2011, he had signed a two-year deal with Kanye West's GOOD Music production branch. ...

and the label's founder

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

; whilst Mike Dean, Bricka Bricka, Eddie Kadi,

Sneakbo Agassi Babatunde Odusina (born 25 July 1992), better known by his stage name Sneakbo, is a British rapper. His first song, " The Wave", peaked at number 48 on the UK Singles Chart and he has since released a number of top 40 hits, such as " Zi ...

and

Keisha Buchanan Keisha Kerreece Fayeanne Buchanan (; born 30 September 1984) is an English singer and a founding member of the girl group Sugababes alongside Mutya Buena and Siobhán Donaghy. With the Sugababes, she had six number one singles and two number ...

of MKS fame also make cameos.

Accolades

The music video for "Oliver Twist" won Most Gifted Male Video and Most Gifted Video of the Year at the 2012 Channel O Music Video Awards. The song won Song of the Year and was nominated for Best Pop Single at

The Headies 2012 The Headies 2012 was the 7th edition of The Headies (known as the Hip Hop World Awards until the 6th edition). It was hosted by M.I and Omawumi. The ceremony took place on 20 October 2012, at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Victoria Island, Lag ...

. D'banj received the Best Male West Africa nomination at the 2012

Kora Awards The KORA All Africa Music Awards are music awards given annually for musical achievement in sub-Saharan Africa. The awards were founded in 1994 by Benin born businessman, Ernest Adjovi, after a discussion in Namibia with the country's President Ha ...

for Oliver Twist. Furthermore, the song was nominated in the Hottest Single of the Year category at the 2012 Nigeria Entertainment Awards. It was also nominated for World's Best Song and World's Best Video at the

2014 World Music Awards The 2014 World Music Awards was a music awards ceremony that was held on May 27, 2014, at the Salle des Etoiles in Monte Carlo, Monaco. It was the 22nd edition of the show since its start in 1989, and the first ceremony since 2010, after which it ...

Charts

Chart performance

"Oliver Twist" made its first chart appearance on the chart week dated 26 May 2012—where it debuted at number nine on the

; as the second highest new entry after

The Saturdays The Saturdays were a British-Irish girl group based in London, England. The group formed during the summer of 2007 and have been on hiatus since 2014. The lineup consists of Frankie Bridge, Una Healy, Rochelle Humes, Mollie King, and Vanessa Wh ...

" 30 Days" (#7). The track also debuted at number two on the

UK R&B Chart The UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart and the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart (also known as The Official UK Hip Hop and R&B Charts, the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Singles and the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Albums, or simply the UK Urban Chart) are 40-posi ...

for the same charting week. "Oliver Twist" spent only one week inside the UK top 10, falling four places to number thirteen on its second charting week—and as of the week dated 20 August has spent thirteen consecutive weeks inside the top 75.

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Oliver Twist 2012 singles D'banj songs Sneakbo songs Song recordings produced by Don Jazzy Works based on Oliver Twist 2011 songs Mercury Records singles Number-one singles in Romania