Nigerian singer Ayra Starr attended LaQuan Smith’s Spring/Summer 2027 show during New York Fashion Week.
For the appearance, Ayra wore a sheer purple off-shoulder dress featuring a thigh-high slit, with her underwear visible beneath the see-through fabric.
The appearance comes during a busy period for Ayra in New York. The singer moved to the city in late 2025 and has incorporated New York into her latest musical era, including “Midnight in New York,” a track from her third album, “Starrgirl.”
Ayra has also maintained a connection to fashion, having made her runway debut at London Fashion Week in 2025 when she walked for Di Petsa.
Nigerian singer Ayra Starr met New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani as the artist continues to build her connection to the city.
Ayra moved to New York in December 2025, and the city has since featured prominently in her latest musical era.
Her third album, “Starrgirl,” released on August 14, includes a track titled “Midnight in New York,” which uses the city as the setting for a late-night romance.
New York has also featured in the visual rollout surrounding the album. Ayra shared images featuring the Statue of Liberty and the Hollywood Sign wearing her signature purple gele, while the Empire State Building was lit purple on August 14 to mark the release of “Starrgirl” in partnership with the Endometriosis Foundation of America.
Ayra attended the lighting ceremony and switched on the building’s lights herself.
The meeting with Mamdani comes amid this period of activity in the city, adding another New York moment to the rollout of “Starrgirl.”
Released through Mavin Records and Republic Records, “Starrgirl” contains 16 tracks, including collaborations with Wizkid, Leon Thomas, Rema, ZAYN, kwn and Theodora.
Ayra Starr’s “Starrgirl” was displayed on the pitch-side advertising boards during Barcelona’s La Liga match against Athletic Bilbao.
The placement comes shortly after “Starrgirl” debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard World Albums chart for the week ending August 29, 2026. Released on August 14, the 16-track album entered the chart behind three K-pop projects, while Tyla’s “APOP” followed at No. 5. The chart debut marked Ayra Starr’s first appearance on the Billboard World Albums chart as a solo artist.
“Starrgirl” is Ayra Starr’s third studio album and features collaborations with Wizkid, Rema, ZAYN, Leon Thomas, kwn, Theodora and Danny Ocean.
The Headies has unveiled the nominees for its 18th edition, with Wizkid, Ayra Starr, Mavo, Davido, Burna Boy, Asake and several of Nigeria’s leading artists featuring across the categories.
The nominations were announced on Tuesday, August 25, ahead of the ceremony, which will take place on October 25 in Toronto, Canada. The 18th edition is themed “Africa to the World,” marking another international outing for the Nigerian music awards.
Wizkid is among the most nominated artists this year, picking up six nominations. His 2024 album Morayo is in contention for Afrobeats Album of the Year, while he is also nominated for Digital Artiste of the Year, Best Male Artiste and Headies’ Viewers’ Choice. His collaborations with Asake on “MMS” and “Jogodo” are nominated for Song of the Year and Afrobeats Single of the Year respectively.
Ayra Starr has five nominations, including Song of the Year for “Hot Body”, Digital Artiste of the Year, Best Female Artiste, Best Performer (Live) for her Global Citizen Festival 2025 performance, and Headies’ Viewers’ Choice.
The nominations also give significant recognition to Mavo, who is shortlisted for Next Rated alongside Fido, Fola, Llona and Shoday. He is also nominated for Digital Artiste of the Year and Best Male Artiste.
Fola is another prominent name among the emerging acts, earning nominations for Next Rated, Digital Artiste of the Year, Best Male Artiste, Best R&B Album for Catharsis, and categories recognising his songs “You” and “Who Does That?”.
Elsewhere, Davido and Omah Lay’s “With You” is nominated for Song of the Year, Afrobeats Single of the Year and Best Recording of the Year, while Burna Boy’s No Sign of Weakness competes for Afrobeats Album of the Year. Burna Boy is also nominated for Best Male Artiste, with “Bundle by Bundle” receiving an Afrobeats Single of the Year nomination.
The Song of the Year category brings together Kunmie’s “Arike”, “Hey Jago” by Poco Lee, Shoday and Rahman Jago, Ayra Starr’s “Hot Body”, Fido’s “Joy Is Coming”, Asake and Wizkid’s “MMS”, and Davido and Omah Lay’s “With You”.
For Afrobeats Single of the Year, the nominees are Rema’s “Fun”, Asake and Wizkid’s “Jogodo”, Shallipopi’s “Laho”, Davido and Omah Lay’s “With You”, Fola’s “You”, and Burna Boy’s “Bundle by Bundle”.
The 2026 nominations follow an eligibility period covering music released between August 1, 2024 and April 30, 2026.
The 18th Headies will hold on October 25, 2026, in Toronto, Canada.
Meeting your favourite artist can be surreal. For one Ayra Starr fan, the moment apparently required a little physical verification.
During Ayra Starr’s “Starrgirl” fan signing pop-up in Camden, London, a fan shared a TikTok showing herself embracing the singer before pinching her.
Ayra immediately winced in pain, seemingly caught off guard by the unexpected pinch, while the fan appeared to be confirming that the singer was, in fact, real.
The interaction has since made its rounds online, turning what was already a memorable fan encounter into a particularly funny one.
Ayra was in Camden for the “Starrgirl” fan signing, with footage from the event showing her meeting fans and signing copies of her latest album.
The Camden appearance forms part of the rollout for Starrgirl, Ayra’s third studio album, which was released in August 2026. The project continues the singer’s evolution from the breakout success of “Rush” into one of Afrobeats’ most recognisable young stars.
For this fan, though, meeting Starrgirl wasn’t quite enough. She needed to make sure the Starrgirl in front of her wasn’t a very convincing hologram.
And apparently, a pinch was the best way to find out.
