Davido opens up on nearly dumping ‘With You’”

Five-time Grammy nominee Davido has revealed that his chart-topping song With You, featuring Omah Lay, almost failed to make the final tracklist of his acclaimed 5IVE album.

The Afrobeats star made the disclosure during an interview with OkayAfrica, shared by HYPETRIBE on Monday.

According to Davido, the song was not a favourite during internal listening sessions ahead of the album’s release.

“Man, it’s so crazy because that song almost didn’t make the album. With You was not in anybody’s top five,” he said.

Reflecting on the song’s eventual success, Davido admitted that its near omission has remained an emotional moment for him, especially whenever he performs it live.

“And now look at it go. Every time I was performing it, my heart would just start beating like, what if I didn’t put this song?” he added.

With You went on to earn Davido a nomination at the Grammy Awards and has since become one of his most successful recent releases, topping charts and surpassing 100 million streams on Spotify.

Davido also recounted how he received the news of his latest Grammy nomination, describing it as unexpected. He said he was in Dubai, close to his birthday, when the call came through.

“I was in the car, actually, checking a car, and then my phone rang. They were like, ‘Oh yeah, another nomination.’ I was like, wow. Thank God,” he said.

Despite strong Nigerian representation at the 2026 Grammys, no Nigerian artist won an award, as South African singer Tyla clinched the Best African Music Performance category.

Looking ahead, Davido said his focus has shifted to touring and releasing new music. He confirmed that he will perform at Coachella 2026, making him the only Nigerian artist on the festival’s lineup.

The singer is scheduled to perform on both Saturdays, April 11 and April 18, 2026, in Indio, California.

“Going back on tour, definitely more music. I’m about to do Coachella. Big plans,” he said.