Social Media Has Taken Away Musicians’ Star Power — Rudeboy

Singer Paul Okoye, popularly known as Rudeboy, has blamed excessive social media exposure for diminishing the mystique and star power that once set musicians apart from their fans.

The former P-Square member said the constant promotion of songs, daily content creation and online display of private moments had reduced the excitement surrounding artistes, making it harder for them to maintain an air of exclusivity.

Okoye made the remarks during a recent interview with Lun Lifestyle TV, where he reflected on how social media has changed the music industry despite expanding artistes’ reach.

He recalled that during P-Square’s peak, fans largely encountered the duo through music videos and public appearances, which helped preserve their appeal.

“Music videos somehow now, because of this generation, is a waste of money. I am sorry to say this. But do you remember us [P-Square] before? You don’t see us anywhere. You just watch music videos, you see us and that’s it, or we come to your country, you see us,” Okoye said.

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The singer argued that artistes’ constant visibility on platforms such as TikTok has reduced the sense of excitement fans once experienced when meeting their favourite performers.

“The reason you don’t see people faint for artistes anymore is because they see them on TikTok every day dancing and promoting your music. If Michael Jackson was alive now and doing promotional content on social media, nobody would see him and faint,” he added.

The Reason With Me crooner also expressed concern that musicians are increasingly expected to post regularly, leaving little room for privacy or the carefully maintained public image that once defined major stars.

“Unfortunately, it’s too late for us to bring back the era of artistes being mystiques. How can you advise an artiste to post every day? How? Post what? You don’t need to,” he said.

While acknowledging social media’s positive contributions to the entertainment industry, Okoye said excessive exposure had created what he described as “see-finish,” a situation in which fans become so familiar with artistes that their star appeal diminishes.

“Social media brought positive change to the industry but it also led to ‘see-finish.’ Artistes are now too exposed. Fans see how they eat and cry. Before when artistes go to club, they stay in restricted VIP areas, but now when they are clubbing, everyone is filming,” he said.