CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Who is Burna Boy, the Nigerian singer who will perform at the 2023 Champions League final
The singer, songwriter and producer, will perform on 10 June at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul ahead of the UEFA showpiece match.
The 2023 Champions League final will take place on 10 June at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey. As usual, the most important event on the football calendar will be preceded by music as we’ve seen recently with the likes of Dua Lipa, Andrea Bocelli, Camila Cabello and Imagine Dragons all performing before the UEFA showpiece game.
For the Istanbul final, Nigerian singer Burna Boy and winner of a Grammy for ‘Best Global Album’ in 2021, and famous for hits such as ‘It’s Plenty’ or ‘Last Last’ will do the musical pre-game honours.
“As a great football fan, I know that there is nothing bigger than the Champions League. That’s why I’m so excited to perform on stage at this year’s final. Music and soccer are the best combination. I’m going to vibrate and make magic in Istanbul. The world is not ready for what awaits us”, says the artist in statement after UEFA confirmed the news.
From Port Harcourt to UCL final
But who is Burna Boy? Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, 31, from Port Harcourt (Nigeria) rose to fame in 2012 when he released her first studio album ‘L.I.F.E’ with the record selling up to 40,000 copies in its first few hours of release.
In 2015, the artist founded his own record label under the name ‘Spaceship Entertainment’ to later release his second studio album, ‘On a Spaceship’. Three years later, his third album. ‘Outside’ dropped. The fourth musical work of his career came in 2019 and was entitled ‘African Giant’ with ‘Twice as Tall’ getting a 2020 release.
Burna Boy’s sixth studio album, ‘Love, Damini’, was released in July 2022 and became the highest debut of an African album on the Billboard 200 chart. It also became the highest charted African album in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and France.
The Nigerian has collaborated with the likes of Justin Bieber, Jon Bellion and Sam Smith during his career with the singer destined to secure a new raft of followers for his infectious Afro-fusion which blends genres such as Afrobeat, R&B, Dancehall and pop.