‘In any entertainment industry, talent is the cheapest commodity, not enough to succeed’

Irorosuayire Ogheneruemu, professionally known as Raymu, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and vocal coach whose music blends soul, Afro-pop and contemporary influences into emotive sounds. A first-class graduate of Mechanical Engineering from Federal University of Petroleum Resources (FUPRE), Raymu emerged as the first runner-up in the just concluded Nigerian Idol Season 10. He spoke to ROTIMI IGE in a recent interview about his experience on the show and plans for music domination in the entertainment space.

How did you feel getting to the final stage?

I feel grateful and blessed. Nigerian Idol is one of the biggest platforms in Africa, and to come out of thousands of people to be the final top two and get to the finale is something that I’m very grateful for, and I see it as a real privilege.

How did you prepare before coming into the show?

 Interestingly, coming to the show, I was a very introverted guy coming from an engineering background, not used to a lot of things. But from the beginning to the end, as you could see during the finale, I was more in control of my artistry and myself as a performer, as well as a singer. There’s a lot of maturity from my singing to my performing and managing the dynamics that come with moving and singing. Also, understanding camera movement and just being a professional. It has been an amazing transition from where I was to where I am now.

What prepared you for this moment?

Just like every educated person, we study, do research and learn about things. So, I did read and look for information about how things are supposed to go. So I came onto the show with some level of information, from just gathering data about what the show is about.

Watching the show, the main sponsor, Bigi drinks, dressed contestants according to their variants. Your variant was Bigi Lemon. Was that your choice?

No, it wasn’t. Bigi Cola is my favourite. The cola brand stands out for me first because of the fact that it came out early, and it was very daring. It was a daring move because Bigi Cola could easily be compared to the likes of Pepsi, Coca Cola, within a short time. It means that you have the determination and grit to prove yourself, to stand out amongst all of those competitors. It did that, found its own place and stood out amongst all of the giants. For me, that speaks of determination and the fact that I can do something if I put my mind to it. That’s why it inspires me so much.

What’s your impression about competition and going forward, what should we expect from you?

Nigerian Idol isn’t a destination, it’s the beginning of a journey, and the fact that you win or don’t win, is you should be grateful to be seen. To be given such a platform for free, I’m going into my career to pursue music, to make use of what I’ve been given. For me, it’s a blessing and a privilege to be on the platform. There’s so much work that goes on behind the scenes. Everybody’s working around you. These people don’t get to be seen. You get to be seen. You have to pay homage to them and respect their hard work by making something out of what you’ve been given.

There must have been moments on the show that were quite challenging, being in the pool of talented individuals. What were those challenges you faced?

In the entertainment industry, talent is the cheapest commodity to be found. Talent is everywhere you look, but not everybody wants to put in the hard work. Not everybody has the character to transition from being just a talented person to becoming a superstar, because it takes a lot of hard work. It takes a lot of discipline and determination to get there. So, back to your question, I did see a lot of talented people, and I respect everybody’s talent. Like I said to someone at the beginning of the show, anybody amongst the top 10 could win the show. We are all individually, equally talented in our different ways. But there’s also a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes for the show, and for me, some of them were on unfamiliar ground.

 For me, it was the first time I was dancing and singing. I almost passed out at some point; that was very challenging for me, but I was able to eventually get a hang of it and understand the dynamics that go on with that. And so, that’s a lesson for me to take out of the show. In those challenging moments, I also realised that being in the entertainment space, you have to be mentally strong. Some people just say things based on what’s in front of them, not because they have all the facts or any information. You have to understand to be mentally guarded and to work with “I know myself. I know what I’m going through, and I know how I can best make the most out of what I’m doing.”

What should fans expect from you?

I think fans should expect as much as you expect from the winner. We have the same level of exposure, and I came into the show as an artiste, I am leaving the show as a better artiste. So, it means that every work that I’ve put in before the show has to be more after the show, because now I have a platform and I have visibility that I didn’t have before.

What kind of music do you do?

I’m a smooth R&B guy, everybody knows that, but the kind of artiste that I envision myself to be isn’t just an artiste that has numbers and fans. I also want to be a part of people’s lives. I want the kind of music that you can listen to 10 years later and you still be like, this is good, this is something I resonate with. I write R&B music, Afro, and Afro soul music, a bit of this and that. But most importantly, I want to sing about love, about life, about things that people can relate to. And you can check out one of my songs. ‘Love me’ by Raymu, it’s a really beautiful song, you should check it.

What is your message to the sponsors of the show?

I want to say a huge thank you to Bigi, because all of this wouldn’t be possible without sponsors. Like I said, there’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes that people don’t see. They only see us because these things happen around us, and none of that would be possible without Bigi. So I want to say thank you. Thank you for being true to your vision and your mission even when it’s uncomfortable. Thank you for making dreams come true because we go back and people see us and they say, ‘Oh, you’re such an artiste’. But that’s only possible because Bigi made it possible by choosing to sponsor the show.

So do you have a personal request for Bigi to spice up Nigerian Idol next edition?

My personal request would be for the organisers to give consolation prizes to the top 10, because it is hard for young artistes who have been seen so much on TV to go back with absolutely nothing. Not everybody can handle that emotionally. Some people can easily assume that they are superstars. It takes a lot of maturity to say, “No, I’m not yet a superstar, I’m just a little bit famous”, but you can’t tell that to the audience. They saw you on TV for five to six weeks and going home and still using public transportation, just because you can’t afford an Uber will have people be like, “Baba, you have come back, I saw you on TV”. It’s a lot to handle. It’s funny, but when you are in that position, it’s a lot, and some of our creatives just shut up and they just don’t want to be seen anymore because they feel like there’s a lot of expectation that they can’t meet up to. So, that’s what that would be my request.

Describe yourself in one sentence…

There are a lot of sentences going on in my head. But I will say I’m determined.

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