Nigerian highlife star, Chinedu Okoli, popularly known as Flavour, has opened up about one of the most humbling moments of his early music career, revealing that he was once asked to leave the stage so that the now-defunct music duo, P-Square, could perform.

The award-winning singer made the revelation during an interview on the World Wide podcast, where he reflected on the challenges he faced before achieving fame.

According to Flavour, the incident occurred while he was performing at a nightclub when the venue’s manager abruptly instructed him to end his performance to make way for P-Square.

He recalled complying with the directive before watching the duo receive an overwhelming reception from the audience.

“I was performing one time when P-Square came in, and the manager of the place told me to leave the stage immediately,” Flavour said.

“I switched off my mic and went and sat down somewhere. Ladies were screaming and cheering wildly the moment Paul of P-Square took the mic and began singing Temptation.”

The singer admitted that the experience left him questioning why the audience responded so differently to the duo despite the fact that they were all musicians.

“I was wondering whether it is not the same music we are all doing because I have been performing there and the crowd had never cheered me that way,” he said.

Rather than allowing the public humiliation to discourage him, Flavour said the experience became a turning point that strengthened his determination to succeed in the music industry.

“I didn’t let the experience discourage me. Instead, I took it as a motivation to work harder, and now we are here,” he added.

Flavour has since grown into one of Africa’s most successful highlife musicians, earning widespread acclaim for his blend of highlife, Afrobeat and contemporary sounds, while P-Square remains one of the most influential music groups in Nigeria’s entertainment history despite their eventual split.