After being dropped by his label, the British-Nigerian singer became huge as an independent artist. So why did the Brit awards snub him? Ahead of arena dates, he reflects on his journey so far
“I’m not looking at a crowd tonight,” Odeal says hours before his first ever Brixton Academy performance in late March. “I’m looking at my people; aunties, uncles, friends, peers and supporters.”
Dressed in loungewear and stretched across a leather sofa backstage at the south London venue, the British-Nigerian singer seems calm, as if he’s exactly where he expected to be. The 26-year-old has the type of fame particular to the British R&B scene: adoration and many millions of streams from the genre’s global fanbase, to the point where he’ll soon play arenas across the US in support of R&B megastar Summer Walker – though is yet to have much mainstream recognition beyond that.
His music sits loosely within R&B, also drawing on Afrobeats, neo-soul and contemporary pop. Across his catalogue – culminating in his 2025 sister EPs The Summer That Saved Me and The Fall That Saved Us – love is rarely conclusive. Instead, songs live in emotional grey areas. But he encourages listeners to lean into their feelings, however conflicted they may be. “If you wanna heal, you’ve got to feel quicker,” he sings on one of his most popular tracks to date, Miami.
