"Ayra Starr is already a starrr" — Internet reacts to Coco Jones' praising Nigerian singer's career and saying she's "going to be a star"

American singer Coco Jones praised Ayra Starr on The Evolving Outlier Podcast, where she appeared as a guest on May 24, 2024. Jones told host Andrea Humphrey, about how she is a big fan of Ayra and Afrobeats genre. She said—

"I love Afrobeats. There’s this artist, Ayra Starr, she’s so fire, and I just met her the other day, and she’s so cool. She’s going to be a star, for sure. She already named herself that, but she gives a vibe."

The comment of Ayra "being about to be a star", however, did not sit right with the netizens who began bashing her stating that Ayra is already a great artist and a star too.

"Ydc, ayra starr is already a starrr. Who’s coco Jones?", wrote yet one user.

One user wrote,

"When will Americans realize that their opinions on the world stage don’t matter."

Another one penned down a tweet that read:

"Miss coco thinks the whole world is America, she a bigger Star."

One tweet read:

"Ayra Starr is actually a bigger star than Coco Jones."

A user further wrote,

"Why are they dragging her? She is comparing the potential of Ayra Starr to the likes of Beyonce and Taylor Swift in her head. Everyone knows Ayra Starr is bigger than her."

While a lot of people bashed and trolled Coco for her comment, some people tried to defend her. A user wrote,

"COCO WAS NOT BEING RUDE she gave her a compliment but even if she was that girl is not popular in America it don’t matter if she big in other countries until she got the Americans riding for her like how they ride for tyla she’s not gonna be considered a star."

Another one tweeted,

"I think what she said is beings taken out of context."

They believed that the context in which Coco spoke about Ayra wasn't supposed to be taken offensively. Another user defended Jones and said that it was not right to pit the artists against each other. The user wrote,

"Can we not pit too bad bs against each other?? She’s just giving her flowers. Coco Jones is a sweetheart. There was no malice guys bffr. I’m sure Ayra Starr is not offended cus she aint mean it like that."

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Coco Jones praising Nigerian singer Ayra Starr on a podcast seemingly backfired

21-year-old singer-songwriter Ayra Starr has become quite a popular name after she dropped her 2021 track Away. The song also made it to the Billboard Top Triller Global chart. Meanwhile, on a recent episode of The Evolving Outlier Podcast, American singer Coco Jones explained how much she liked Ayra.

However, she received backlash on social media platforms after making a comment where she said that Ayra "is going to be a star." According to netizens, the Nigerian singer was already more popular than Jones, and that Jones had downplayed her current status. While many people slammed her, Jones also received some support when people claimed she did not want to sound rude.

A month back in April, in an interview with DJ Buck, Starr confirmed that she had planned a collaboration with Coco Jones. Meanwhile, Jones is also working on her debut album which is set to release this year. In a February interview with Complex, Jones Said,

"I definitely am experimenting. I want to let myself be free and not try to fit into any expectation. I want to see what happens and where that lands."

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Starr reportedly wrote songs with her brother in school

Ayra Starr, born in 2002, in Benin, was reportedly raised in a music-loving family. In 2021 interview with Hypebae, Starr revealed that she loved to read books and binge-watch shows in free time. In the same interview, the singer further described herself, and said,

"I think I’m happy all the time. It annoys a lot of people, but I’m always happy. I’m just a free spirit."

She further spoke about her childhood, when she joined the choir and penned down songs with her brother. She, however, began her career by signing with a modeling agency in 2018. Her singing career skyrocketed when she posted her original song Damage on her Instagram page in 2019.

Starr soon signed with Mavin Records, that also happened to be her first recording contract. Her debut album 19 & Dangerous was released in 2021. Ayra Starr's next project The Year I Turned 21, is expected to release this year in May. She was also nominated for the 2024 Grammy Awards for her song Rush.

Some of her songs include Commas, Rush, Stability, Bloody Samaritan, and Love Don't Cost A Dime. Apart from being a singer, Ayra Starr was also chosen as the brand ambassador for Pepsi Nigeria.