Singer Paul Okoye, popularly known as Rudeboy, has blamed social media overexposure for eroding the mystique, aura and celebrity status of Nigerian musicians.
Speaking in a recent interview with Lun Lifestyle TV, the former P-Square member said that although social media has expanded artistes’ reach and created new promotional opportunities, it has also diminished the excitement and admiration that once surrounded music stars.
Okoye described the trend as “see-finish”, a Nigerian expression for losing respect or admiration for someone through excessive familiarity.
According to him, the constant creation of content on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram has made artistes too accessible to fans, stripping away the exclusivity that once defined celebrity culture.
He argued that music videos have also lost some of their appeal because fans can now watch their favourite artistes almost every day on social media.
“Music videos somehow now, because of this generation, is a waste of money. I am sorry to say this. But do you remember us [P-Square] before? You don’t see us anywhere. You just watch music videos, you see us and that’s it, or we come to your country, you see us,” he said.
The Reason With Me crooner further attributed the decline in fans’ dramatic reactions to meeting celebrities to their constant exposure to artistes online.
He noted that fans who regularly watch musicians dancing, promoting songs and sharing content on social media may no longer feel the same excitement when they encounter them in person.
“The reason you don’t see people faint for artistes anymore is because they see them on TikTok every day dancing and promoting your music. If Michael Jackson was alive now and doing promotional content on social media, nobody would see him and faint,” Okoye added.
The singer also expressed concern over the pressure on artistes to maintain a constant online presence, arguing that the demand for daily content has eroded their privacy and made it difficult to preserve an air of mystery.
“Unfortunately, it’s too late for us to bring back the era of artistes being mystiques. How can you advise an artiste to post every day? How? Post what? You don’t need to,” he said.
While acknowledging social media’s positive impact on the music industry, Okoye maintained that its drawbacks include the excessive exposure of artistes’ personal lives.
He observed that fans now have unprecedented access to celebrities’ private moments, from their eating habits and emotional struggles to their outings and nightlife.
“Social media brought positive change to the industry but it also led to ‘see-finish.’ Artistes are now too exposed. Fans see how they eat and cry. Before when artistes go to club, they stay in restricted VIP areas, but now when they are clubbing, everyone is filming,” he said.
