Burna Boy is my number one collaboration choice - Ayra Starr

Ayra Starr (Nigerian singer-songwriter)

 Ayra Starr, the singer who has been nominated for two Grammys, says that Burna Boy is still the person she wants to work with most.

The artist, whose real name is Sarah Oyinkansola Aderibigbe, shared this during a Billboard interview on Thursday. While chatting with Love Island USA star Chelley Bissainthe, she also talked about how she felt regarding her 2026 Grammy nominations.

“Everybody knows Burna Boy is like my number one person I want to collaborate with. I’ve collaborated with a lot of people, and I still want to collaborate with many more people,” Ayra Starr said.

Ayra Starr was recently nominated for a Grammy for Best African Music Performance. The nod was for her song "Gimme Dat," a collaboration with Wizkid that came out on 25 April 2025.

The nominations were revealed in November 2025, just before the main awards ceremony on 1 February 2026.

Speaking about the news, the ‘Sabi Girl’ singer said this second nomination makes her feel much more confident about her career.

“I remember I was so excited. I was like, ‘Oh my God. Oh my God. I knew it. I knew it. Every day I feel happy. I’m very grateful. Every day it’s like a new feeling — ‘Oh, I’m actually a two-time Grammy nominee,’” she said.

Comparing both nominations, she added, “The first time I got nominated, it was like, ‘Oh my God, I got nominated. This is crazy.’ But the second time felt like reassurance and just like, ‘Oh, I’m good at this. I know what I’m doing.’ Maybe I need to trust God and myself a bit more.”

When talking about how "Gimme Dat" was made, Ayra Starr mentioned that it uses a sample from the song "911" by Wyclef Jean and Mary J. Blige. She admitted she only found out where the sample came from while she was actually recording the track.

“To be honest, I was born in 2002, so I didn’t really know exactly. I didn’t really know until I was recording the song and Don Jazzy was like, ‘Okay, this is a 911 sample.’ Then I went and did my research, and I was like, wow,” she said.

She also mentioned that the studio where they recorded the song actually belonged to Wyclef Jean. Just like the sample, she only found that out later on.

“The crazy thing was that the studio I was recording in was also Wyclef’s studio, and I did not know that at the time. So it felt like everything was just meant to be,” she said.

Ayra Starr further disclosed that she struggled vocally during the initial recording sessions.

“First of all, I sounded horrible. The engineer knew I sounded horrible. I sounded bad the first day,” she said, adding that she returned the next day determined to get it right.

“My voice was still all over the place, but I was very, very determined. I wanted to sound great. I gave my all, and we thank God for technology. It came out beautiful.”

She also said that "Gimme Dat" started out as a solo song, and Wizkid only hopped on the track later.

“I recorded this song maybe six or eight months before it actually came out. This was before Wizkid even jumped on it. It was supposed to be just my single.”