Teni, the popular Nigerian singer known by her stage name “Teni,” recently shared a childhood memory involving her sisters, Doyin and singer Niniola. Teni revealed that she once believed Niniola was envious of her talent due to the critical way Niniola commented on her singing voice.
During an episode of the Tea With Tay podcast, Teni recounted their childhood rehearsals, where their eldest sister, Doyin, praised her melodious voice, but Niniola offered more critical feedback, which led Teni to misconstrue it as jealousy.
Teni said, “My elder sister, the one that’s older than Nini [Niniola], Doyin, maybe she was deceiving because she didn’t want to hurt me; she used to tell me I have a melodic voice whenever I sing during my childhood. Nini, on the other hand, would say to me my voice isn’t sweet. So, I thought she was jealous of me.
“She [Niniola] called me aside and told me not to let Doyin deceive me. She now said, ‘You sing from your stomach.’ So, everytime Nini sings, I would watch her sing. So, I also started singing from my stomach.
“There was a time my school organised an event, I sang and the whole school stood up and was clapping for me. I said, ‘I’ve arrived.’ I went back home to tell Nini that I sang in school and everybody was clapping and she said I should sing want I sang. I sang it and Nini too clapped for me. I said, ‘Okay, we are up to something.”
