Tonye Garrick (born 27 August 1982), simply known as Tonye is a British-born Nigerian singer and songwriter.
Growing up
Tonye is a native of
Benin City in
Edo State, South-South Nigeria. Her name "
Tamunotonye" was given to her by her grandmother who is a native of
Kalabari Kingdom,
Rivers State.
She grew up listening to songs by
Whitney Houston,
Janet Jackson,
Celine Dion and
Brenda Fassie before she developed her interest in music at the age of 7.
Early life and education
Born in England into the family of an Edo State father who was a diplomat and an
Anambra State mother, Tonye had most of her early life in Nigeria, Paris and the United States of America.
She attended Vivian Fowler Memorial College and Queen's College, Lagos where she completed her secondary school education.
She holds a bachelor's degree in International Business & Fashion Merchandising after graduating from Marymount University.
Career
Prior to picking music as a profession, Tonye had previously worked for
UBS Financial and
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited as a
business analyst. She dropped her corporate job for a career in music in 2013 and went on to release her first official single titled "Were Niyen" which was received to critical acclaim.
On 2 October 2014, she released another song produced by Password titled "
Criminal" which did well to gain grounds. In 2015, her song titled "
Abi Belema" became popular and thus winning her a nomination at the 2015 Nigeria Entertainment Awards.
She cites Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson,
Brandy Norwood and
Aaliyah as her musical influences.
In an interview granted to
Thisday Live on 21 June 2014, she said she is working on her debut studio album.
Discography
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| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Awards and nominations
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| 2015 | 2015 Nigeria Entertainment Awards | Most Promising Act | | |
| ELOY Awards | Music Artist of The Year | | |
See also
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List of Nigerian musicians
External links
