Nigerian singer-songwriter, harmonica player and entrepreneur Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo, famously known as D’banj, and model and TV presenter Pearl Thusi will be hosting the African version of Lip Sync Battle. The two crazy and fun personalities tell us about the show.
By: Boitumelo Mmakou
1.Has working together been hard and did you struggle to gel?
Pearl: A lot of people have asked us that, and the answer is no – we did not struggle to connect. I met D’banj last year at the MTV Base Music Awards, and we automatically clicked. Someone must have told the producers of the show how easily we got along because this allowed us to make the perfect co-presenters.
D’banj: We had fun working together. I had moments I was not sure of what I was doing and would forget my lines, but Pearl would come through for me; and I would do the same. We fed off each other’s energy. She also complements my style because she is beautiful and talented.
2. You started recording the show months back, which meant you had to keep mum about it. When you could finally talk about it, who was the first person you told?
Pearl: My boyfriend!
D’banj: I called my mother and said, “Ma, my dream has come true; I found a job in South Africa. I am moving to SA for 17 weeks…” (Laughs). I was so excited. Whenever something great happens in my life, I tell my family; and we pray and thank God for it.
3. What was the one performance that blew your mind away during the recording of Lip Sync Battle?
Pearl: The audience needs to look out for the performance of Nicki Minaj’s Anaconda. It was explosive!
D’banj: I loved the performance of Busiswa’s Ngoku; the person who performed it did an amazing job. I was utterly impressed.
4. How did you manage to juggle your other professions while recording the show?
Pearl: I put all my other projects on hold in order to focus on Lip Sync Battle. But, I still tried to make time for family and friends.
D’banj: I put all my energy on the show. However, we did most of the show recordings during the day, so I worked on my music at night, some of my producers came to South Africa to help with this.
5. Is this a once-off thing or will we be seeing another season? Apart from that, what else can we expect from the two of you?
D’banj: I would like to speak on behalf of Pearl on this one and say that it isn’t a once-off thing. Because of this, she has become a household name; she is now of international standards and has opened herself up to bigger opportunities and even endorsements. She is on a bigger platform now.
Pearl: I know that this show has made D’banj aware of other talented people in Africa and he has shown interest in working with some of the people who were on the show. So expect a few collaborations from this.
