THE BIG LIST!!! Checkout The Best Ten (10) Nigerian Songs Of 2017 So Far [See What Song Is Missing]

2017 so far has been a very competitive one in the Nigerian music scene. So many songs have been dropped, but few are worthy to be mentioned.  

This list is based on TV and Radio airplays, opinion & views from music lovers, streaming platforms and from top Nigerian entertainment web.

10. Bred – Fall For You Ft Davido

HKN gang act Bred started the year 2017 on a good note with his currently trending song ‘fall for you’ featuring DMW’s Davido. The Krizbeat produced track is having airplays on radio and TV across Nigeria since its release in January and is Worthy of being on the list. The video currently has 1,022,243 million views on YouTube and still counting.

9. Skales – ‘Give Me Love Ft Tekno

Baseline music act ” Skales” dropped “give me love” in march off his just released “NEVER SAY NEVER GUY” album. With the help of the “Pana” crooner Tekno to deliver a good vibe to the song. The video currently
has 521,300 thousand views on YouTube and still counting.

8. P-Square – Away

Making it their second song on the list. Away was their first serving for the year 2017 and since then has been trending alongside “Nobody Ugly”. ‘Away’ has been getting huge radio and TV airplays across
Nigeria since its relaeae in January. The video currently has 8,627,600 million views on YouTube.

7. Tiwa Savage – All Over

Mavin’s first lady Tiwas savage was on a serious hiatus (break) before dropping “All Over” in April. All over is everybody’s choice across the country and its one of the most played songs of 2017 so far. The video currently has 1,839,300 million views on YouTube.

6. Lil Kesh – No Fake Love

Lil kesh was one of the artiste that everyone thought was out of the game. But I can now assure you that he is back for good in the year 2017. The YAGI/YBNL act dropped “No fake love” on March and since then making it every DJ’s favourite song and having radio and TV plays. The video currently has 942,103 Thousand views and still counting.

5. Tekno – Yawa

Since his biggest hit in 2016 ” Pana” , Made men music act Tekno has not stumbled back as he continues to feed us with good afrobeat music. Yawa is obviously everyone’s choice at the moment, because a DJ starting a party without Yawa is a taboo! The video currently has 8,000,700 views on YouTube and still counting.

4. Ycee – Juice Ft. Maleek Berry

We all thought Tinny Entertainment act ‘Ycee’ was out of the game till he gave us a track on 31st march of his latest released ‘Wave’ Mixtape. The song is ‘Juice’ featuring super talented producer “Maleek
berry”. No one expected this song to be a hit as its currently the No.1 song in Nigeria at the moment. The video currently has 3,490,748 million views on YouTube and still counting. Special thanks to Maleek berry for his melodious verse.

3. P-Square – Nobody Ugly

Africa’s biggest duo ‘Peter & Paul’ popularly known as P-square are usually known for their RnB and Afro beat style never disappoint in giving us hit singles, and there latest offering is “Nobody Ugly” released in April and has since then been topping charts among one of Nigeria’s top 5 songs at the moment. Currently has 5,839,480 million views and still counting on YouTube.

2. Wizkid – Come Closer Ft Drake

Wizkid released the official version of his song ‘Come closer’ ft Drake in 2017 and was well received by music lovers. Though Drake was abscent from the video and this led to people criticizing it, it still
stands out as one of 2017 best songs released in Nigeria. The video currently 23,334,200 million views on YouTube and still counting.

1. Davido – IF

We can say that 2016 wasn’t davido’s year at all, but O.B.O himself promised his fans that 2017 will definitely be a good year and a good year it has been so far for the Sony Music Act as he gave us his top charting single “IF” in march. The song topped the 1st spot for almost 6 weeks after its release. the video currently has 22,070,930 million views on YouTube and still counting.

If you think your favorite song is not on this list feel free to add it on the comment section below!

June 26, 2017

Thinking That Social Media promotion Is A Waste Of Time?..Read How To Do It Right

’lets talk about promoting your music on social media.

More specifically making the task of promoting your music not suck (and take all your time away from music). I mean, who has time to spend hours coming up with social media posts?

The secret is NOT doing more to promote your music. It’s about working SMARTER – making the most out of everything you create.

So today, I’m going to walk you through a quick approach to making your social media efforts more efficient and more productive (so you can save time and get more attention for your music).

Keep in mind that implementing a strategy on social media like the one I’m going to give you today takes TIME. There is going to be very little instant gratification here, so get yourself in that mindset.

True success on social media is like a relationship (a relationship with each of the hundreds of thousands of fans you have on the platform). And like any relationship, it will take some time to develop.

So think long term with these tips, be consistent, and after a few months, you’ll start seeing some more activity.

1. Use What You Already Have

If you’re thinking you need to create a whole new set of content to post on social media, you’re wasting a lot of time and effort (time that could be spent playing gigs, practicing, recording, writing…).

Instead, think about how you can repurposeand adapt all the stuff you already have.

As artists, we create A LOT of stuff. You know, riffs, songs, lyrics, covers, jams, live performances, albums, tones, beats, effects, and the list goes on and on.

BUT, a lot of musicians I see out there promoting their music online don’t actually use half of the stuff they create. And that’s a missed opportunity.

I know, there is a bit of a balance to find here. Especially if you’re working you way up to a big album launch you don’t want to give everything away before the actual release date. But giving away little pieces here and there can actually get fans moreexcited for the release as you build up the anticipation.

Today, take a few minutes to look at all the creative work you do every day. How much of it are you actually sharing with your fans?

2. Focus on Frequency and Consistency

Okay, one quick aside before we get intohow to actually create your social posts…

A lot of musicians have this mindset that their work can’t be released until it’s 100% perfect and finished (and it needs to be released in its entirety or not at all). And the result is often long periods of radio silence on social media followed by frantic promotion of the new thing.

At the most basic level, success on social media is all about balancing frequency andconsistency. The more you post (as long as it’s quality, interesting posts), the more of a response you will get over time. Fans will start to expect and anticipate your posts.  

Which means that radio silence is actuallyhurting you when you get around to promoting your next big thing. (Especially on Facebook where the algorithm favors posts that get more engagement.) Less fans will see your promotions, less fans will respond to your promotions, and you’ll start feeling that social media is a waste of time.

So try to focus on getting some kind of posting rhythm down. After some time you’ll be in a much better place to promote your music (and have your fans actually notice your posts and respond).

Before you move on, look at your social accounts and figure out how often you’re posting. What does your schedule look like? Are there any gaps?

3. Splinter Your Content

Now we’ll move a little deeper and start talking about how you can actually take something like a new song, a new video, or a live performance, and turn it into multiple social media posts.

I like to call this “splintering” your content. Think of it like taking a big thing – like a song – and breaking it down into smaller pieces that you can post on social. Each of those smaller pieces will lead fans back to the full song.

So for a single song, here are some “splinter” post ideas:

• Take a quote from the lyrics. Post as is or create an image with the quote. You can probably get a lot of quote posts from a single song
• Open up and share the meaning behind the lyrics (you could create a post, a blog post, a short video, a live stream, or all of the above)
• Create a short video (or do a live stream) walking fans through the tones (or beats, or pedal board setup…) you used in the song so they can recreate the sound
• Share photos of the lyric sheet or lead sheet
• Do a playthrough or tutorial of a certain riff or beat
• Create a “making of” video series for the song
• Post a lyric line you’re working on and ask your fans to finish it with their own words
• If any of your fans cover the song you could share that too

See what we did there? That was just one song and we got a ton of social posts. Individually, these posts don’t give away the full picture of the song, so many of these ideas can be used in the days leading up to the song release to create hype.  

Try to do this exercise for something you’re working on right now. Make a list and brainstorm everything and anything you could splinter off from that main piece of content. You don’t need to use all the ideas you come up with, but write down everything that comes to mind and proceed from there.

4. Use Automation (in moderation)

Okay, so now we have all these social media post ideas. You probably don’t want to post them all at the same time. (Remember –consistency is key). So that means you need to space things out over time.

And that’s where automation comes in.

Automation tools help you pre-schedule posts on many different social media platforms so you don’t need to be constantly remembering to post on social media. That way, you can get your promotion over with and allow yourself to focus completely on music.

Check out these tools:

• Hootsuite – this will allow you to schedule posts for multiple different social platforms. The free version allows you to post to 3 different social channels
• Facebook (there’s a scheduler built right in. Instead of choosing “post,” choose “schedule” and pick a date and time you’d like it to hit your page)
• Tweetdeck – this is a great free platform for posting, scheduling, and monitoring Twitter
• Buffer – the free version allows you to schedule and manage 1 account from each social platform (so you could have a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc). You can schedule up to 10 posts at a time per social account
• SocialOomph – the free version only allows you to schedule and monitor Twitter, but the paid version covers multiple different platforms

A little word of caution. Automation can be overdone. The very purpose of social media is to be able to connect with your fansauthentically and in real time. If you’re pre-scheduling all your content out weeks or months in advance, you’re totally missing that real-time connection with your fans.

So, here’s what I suggest… Create your posts by splintering up your content, schedule them out for maybe a week or two, and then make time each day to post something relevant that you’re working onright now and respond to comments and messages.

June 26, 2017

Musicians Tips:Proper Way You Should Promote Your Song

How to Promote Your Music

The internet has opened up endless possibilities, and, while that may seem daunting, it really allows you to experiment and let your creativity run wild! The key is to learn from the promotions you run, make changes, and fine-tune them to your unique career. Let’s take a look at some basic strategies you could be using to promote your music right now.

1. Live Music Promotion

With everything moving more and more towards digital, it’s easy to forget about the value of the person-to-person interaction. These days, you can create great quality music, release it, distribute it, promote it, and even play live without ever leaving your room. But, just because you can release something entirely online doesn’t mean you should! In fact, these personal interactions are still extremely important in the music industry.

The live show is so much more than just performing. You can use gigs to promote your music, new album, or song. Tell your fans that you’ll be premiering a new song, or, if you want to go all out, tell them you’ll be playing the whole album at one show over the next month or two. The trick is not to tell anyone which is the lucky show.

If your fans really want to hear the album early, they’ll have to come to all the shows. You could also use gigs to grow a fanbase in new cities, states, or countries. Work with a local established band and propose a headline swap – you’ll open for them in their home town and they’ll open for you in your home town. Just make sure you pick a band with a similar musical style.

2. Use Social Media to Promote Your Gigs and Appearances

We all use social media. These days, if you’re not on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, it’s almost like you don’t exist. However, you may not be using social media to it’s full potential to promote your music. Social media is not a straight-up marketing platform. It’s really a catalyst for conversation and word-of-mouth marketing. About 80% of your posts should be funny, conversational, and interesting, leaving about 20% for promotional material.

That’s not to say that conversational posts can’t be promotional! You just need to learn how to frame the content in interesting ways. For example, if you’re in the studio recording a new album, try sprinkling little updates on social media. Tell a story about your studio experience that day, share a photo of the mix, or post a short teaser Vine of a song. If you’re out on tour, take photos at the venues or share short videos or photos of the audiences. These things aren’t obviously promotional, but they still let fans know what’s going on.

Check out New Artist Model for more info on promoting your music via social media.

3. Promote Your Music and sell it on Your Website

Your website shouldn’t be a static thing. It should be ever adapting and changing to reflect new events in your career. Basically, you want your fans stopping by your website as often as possible. The more often they’re on your site, the more chances they have to buy an album, merch, tickets, or any other product you have available.

If you’re just starting out, you probably don’t have a lot of big updates other than the occasional album release and tour. Running a blog is a great solution. It’s fairly easy to set up a blog on the homepage of your website. Most website tools like Bandzoogle, and WordPress, have blog capabilities. Plan out blog posts at regular intervals like once or twice a week and share anything you think your fans would find interesting. This could be the inspirations behind certain songs, new lyrical ideas you’re working on, a funny story from the last band practice, or even a run-down of the gear you use.

4. Reach out to Music Blogs

If you want to promote your music, it isn’t just about sharing things with your fans. You also want to reach out to new audiences and convert them to fans, and music blogs are a great way to do that. Bloggers are always looking for fresh, new content, and the cool thing is, there are a ton of smaller blogs that are totally within your reach as an indie artist. Blogs also tend to have a pretty niche following. This means that if your music is run on a blog, it’s guaranteed to be seen by people who already like the genre!

Do some research, find blogs that cover your type of music, and send personalemails out to the bloggers. Are there any interesting stories about your new album, song, or tour? Having a unique story will definitely help you stand out from the thousands of other musicians releasing an album. Make it as easy as possible for them to cover your story and treat them like people. Remember, it’s all about establishing a relationship.

5. Collaborate with Other Musicians

Collaboration is an often overlooked aspect of music promotion. It’s a great way to get your music in front of another group of people and make new fans. You can collaborate on pretty much anything. Just make sure you collaborate with musicians whose fans would appreciate your music. Choose to work with bands in a similar genre or with similar fanbase demographics.

The headline trade strategy we looked at earlier in this article is a great option. You could also work together on a song or album. If you don’t want to dedicated too much time, record a cover song or two together and release them on your YouTube channels. The key is to drive your fans to each other. If you create a song or video, link to each other’s websites. If it’s a gig, try to drive your fans to each other’s merch table to pick up a CD.

6. Promote with Email

Your email list is an extremely valuable tool to promote your music. Unlike collaboration and blogs, your email list is marketing to your current fan base. If someone signed up for your email list, they want to hear from you, so take advantage of it! Remember, your emails should be driving your fans to your website, so you want to include links.

The obvious use of an email list is to let your fans know when you have an album coming out or a tour. You can also use your email list to send fans to your blog. Remember, you want to get your fans on your website as often as possible.

“No matter how many followers you have, you can’t eat a tweet. Get New Artist Model and learn how to turn traffic – into fans – into money.” – Dave Kusek

New Artist Model is a music business crash course designed to help you break through and get heard. Most programs will show you how to grow your following on social media, or even start building up engagement, but that’s where they stop. The truth is, if you want to be successful online, you need to know how to turn those followers and engagement into sales.

Please if these was helpful use the share buttons

June 26, 2017

Olamide, Flavour, Yemi Alade, And More Thrill At Glo Mega Music Tour Ibadan [Photos]

The city of Ibadan, Oyo State Capital, yesterday Sunday, 25th of June burbled with unprecedented jollification as the flagship show packaged by the fully integrated telecommunications company, Globacom, the Glo Mega Music Nationwide Tour, stormed the city in a grand style with seven top artistes in a single haul.

Vibes of the event kicked off with DJ Lambo on the wheels of steel who gave the crowd a full dose of her mastery of the nation’s music as she supplied several danceable hits for the audience.

Ace actresses, Uche Jombo and Juliet Ibrahim stepped on stage to announce that they would anchor the show. They later thrilled the audience to fun games like rap competitons and several others.

Special guests of the evening, Richard Mofe Damijo, Odunlade Adekola and Kanayo O Kanayo, were also called to the stage and they gave really fun speeches that made the audience really happy.

Woju crooner Kiss Daniel was the first artiste on stage to perform, the crowd was over excited as he rendered his hit songs with so much energy. Dancehall artiste, Runtown got on stage next and he also rendered all his hit tracks including “Mad Over You”. It was the turn of beautiful Afro pop singer, Yemi Alade whose electic band’s choreography was very african and fun to watch.

She handed the baton to the Nabania star, Flavour, who gave the crowd a night to remember for a long time to come with his stage control and unmistakable synergy with his band.

The excitement in the hall continued when Phyno was announced as the next act. The ethic rapper wowed the crowd and got his fans to sing every line with him. Hit Twin super music duos, P square performed thereafter and really thrilled the crowd with their dramatic performance, Olamide, spotting a greyish hairstyle with his team, arrived the stage to a tumultuous reception.

The crowd surged forward to feel the pulse of the King of the Streets closely as he entertained his Omo Wobe fans to no end.

The next stop for the train of the concert is 10 degrees event center, Ikeja, Lagos this Saturday. Interested Glo subscribers wishing to attend the Lagos show are expected to recharge their lines with up to N2,000 credit and sms ‘MUSIC Ikeja’ to the short code 207.

More pictures from the event: 

June 26, 2017

Flavour Unveils “IJELE The Traveller” Album Cover & Release Date

“IJELE The Traveller” by Flavour is barely 24 hours away from official release.

The wait is almost over, as contemporary highlife maestro, Flavour N’abania reveals “IJELE The Traveller” release date.

Flavour showcased the cover art and release date of his 5th studio album on his Instagram page.

THE WAIT IS ALMOST OVER! 24 HOURS TO GO!!!! #IJELETHETRAVELER OFFICIAL ALBUM RELEASE DATE>>>> 27.06.2017

However, the official track list of songs has not been given out by the singer. Also the album will reportedly contain international collaborations as hinted in an interview.

More updates concerning the album will be brought your way as soon as we come in contact with any new information.

June 26, 2017

Beef Alert!!! See How Ubi Franklin Shade Iyanya In His New Instagram Post

CEO Triple MG, Ubi Fraklin, may have just thrown a subtle shade via his Instagram handle while celebrating his act, Tekno.

Ubi, who accompanied Tekno, (whom he declared is his few months back) to the 2017 BET AWARDS where he was nominated in the BEST INTERNATIONAL ACT: AFRICA, category, shared photos of himself with the singer on his IG, penning down a caption which has many assuming he is throwing a not so subtle shade at former business partner, Iyanya.

He wrote:

So one man said when I leave you will suffer, But When you know Man is not God just smile and keep working hard.
GRACE LOOKS GOOD ON ME ????????????????????????

June 26, 2017

Could These Be Love(11)

A Story by Deborah Benson

Sound Check

And without trust, there can be no love


It wasn't until light began to pour in through the floor length windows that the pair began to stir.

They had spent until the early hours of the morning together, fumbling around through the empty theater up to Kimberly's flat. Their need for one another overcoming any concern about the numerous boxes still packed that they had shoved out of their way to allow them to be together in nearly every room in the penthouse.

The chaos of the previous night slowly came into view as the light continued to break through the curtains much to John's disdain.

He considered getting up to close the curtains fully seeing as they must've been pushed ajar sometime during their trip from the living room to the bedroom, but before he could convince himself to move off the bed a small mutter of protest came from below him. Slowly through the early morning haze he became aware of Kimberly's small body tucked against his own, his arm easily hooking itself around her waist as she slept peacefully.

No amount of light pouring into the room could bring him to stir her from her sleep. He had lost his chance to hold her the last time they slept together and there was very little that would have convinced him to give the opportunity up now that he had it. She looked far too at peace for him to bring himself to stir her anyway. His stomach on the other hand, had different plans.

Within five minutes of his waking his stomach awoke as well, growling in protest of having gone so long without being satisfied. Unlike the rest of his body the night with Kimberly had taken it's toll on his stomach seeing as getting to eat out and eating Kim out didn't quiet add up as far as it was concerned. And without Mark walking around the flat there was little he could do but wait to wake up his sleeping partner.

The constant rumbling from his stomach continued for several more minutes before Kimberly began to wake up of her own accord.

John would tell himself the lights had woken her in order to keep away the guilt of stirring her but there was no denying she felt his stomach nearly as much as he did.

"You can't just be quiet can you…?" she asked, her eyes still closed. "The snoring was one thing but this is just annoying."

Her sweet sleepy voice made the words sting a little less than she might have intended, but he had heard far worse from Mark.

"I do not snore." Kim laughed. "It's not like I can help it anyway. It just happens."

Slowly opening her eyes Kimberly rolled over without moving his arm from her waist, her forehead tucked neatly under his chin as she kissed the top of his bear chest. Her thin arms wrapping themselves around his easily before she pulled herself up to kiss his chin; if he had known her to be so affectionate in the morning he would have woken her sooner.

"You snore. I considered smothering you with a pillow after you fell asleep," she said as she placed another kiss along his jawline. "What's your excuse for the stomach?"

"Well I had been planning on taking you to dinner but we got distracted."

A small smirk played across his face before Kimberly shoved him away playfully. She too was smiling at the memory but he doubted she had been as foolish as to go without eating before they met up. It wasn't as though she needed as much to keep running as he did, she was almost half his size, he could have eaten enough for the both of them easily.

"Well what do you want to do about it? Mark says you're a lousy cook."

"But you're a good one, aren't you?"

"I'm not making you breakfast. You're the one who skipped dinner."

John stuck out his bottom lip slightly, his eyebrows rising to finish off a well-practiced pout that could even convince Mark to wash his socks. Within a matter of seconds Kimberly too caved, her laughter filling the room with a wonderful melody.

"Fine, but you have to help. You're not getting breakfast in bed in my bed. Hell you should be the one getting me breakfast." With a light kiss Kim wormed her way out of John's grasp, climbing off the bed to cover herself with a large shirt that barely passed the top of her shapely thighs. A sight in its own that could convince John to do whatever she'd like.

He had his pout, but she had her entire being to command him with. There was simply no competition to be had between the two. He was hers, no contest.

"Next time you're over I'll have Mark bring us breakfast in bed as many times as you'd like."

John moved from the bed, reluctantly pulling his boxers back on before following Kim to the kitchen. "He's rather fond of you so the real challenge would be to make sure he'd bring me the food too."

Her smile was simply dazzling in the morning light as she began to get out different ingredients, ordering John to pick up certain items stashed away in the cupboards simply because she could. There was a simple domesticity to the process that John adored. It was more than a break from his responsibilities at work, it was a compilation of actions so simple as holding her waist as she cooked that made him believe that just for a moment they could stay together without any outside interference for as long as they wished.

If his promise to Serena a held through and Kimberly returned home with him then maybe, just maybe, it was a vision of what their lives had in store for them after the theater.

It wasn't until a quick set of knocks from the front door broke through the quiet sizzle of bacon that either of them became aware of the outside world. John had half a mind to order the intruder away but Kimberly seemed far more shaken by the jolt of reality than he was comfortable with. It was then that he remembered being pulled back down to earth for her was a far grittier picture than it was for him.

"Stay here, eat but stay quiet," Kim said as she slipped away from the kitchen, her hands pulling at her hair to cover the collection of marks he had left on her neck. "If it's Dakota you hide in a closet for all I care."

He wanted to write the comment off as a joke, but as she left to open the door he knew she was serious. He had never known Dakota as one who liked to share her things.

"There you are, I've been trying to get a hold of you all morning." A voice that thankfully didn't belong to Dakota said from the doorway.

"You have? I'm sorry I misplaced my phone.

What time even is it?" Kimberly was surprisingly good at feigning innocence.

"Almost noon. You're lucky I came by or you'd have to deal with Dakota on your own. She's going to be watching you like a hawk before the dinner." Slowly John recognized the voice as Serena's as she walked into the apartment. She was no threat but he was too hungry to leave his fresh breakfast so soon.

"I almost forgot that was today." A hint of sadness obvious in Kim's voice. "Are you positive I can't cancel?"

"Positive. Luscious might understand but Dakota would be suspicious. As far as she knows you don't have a reason to want to avoid him." Before John could bother sitting down Serena strode into the kitchen with a confidence that only slightly faltered at the sight of him virtually Unclad. Somehow he doubted she thought to find him there so soon.

"…I can explain," Kimberly said, putting herself between the two.

"Oh Kim..... Oh you've gone and done it now," Serena's voice held no anger to Kim's obvious surprise, only pity.

"Done what?" John asked, finishing his bite of bacon easily. "You knew I cared for her."

The icy look Serena shot John was enough to stall his appetite for a moment. She pitied Kim and though she had promised to help them he somehow felt as though she was blaming him for any trouble their being together might cause.

"It's one thing to care for someone but to fool around with them when so much is on the line is just irresponsible! Do you have any idea what could happen  if Dakota knew Kim wasn't exclusively Luscious's? Or even worse if he found out himself! This isn't some petty problem of who's allowed to date who, these men are just as rich as you with half the moral compass.

You're both putting yourselves in harms way and you aren't even trying to hide it!"

Both Kimberly and John are left speechless, their peaceful reality shattered harshly as Serena easily found the marks he had left across Kim's body. Neither of them had considered anyone but each other the night before and now it seemed as though they'd risk paying full price. Which at the lasted addition to the show was now well above a hundred thousand dollars, not to mention the cost Luscious would be paying to have Kimberly for an entire evening.

"I'll give you an hour here Kim then you come down and we'll start getting you ready. I'll help as much as I can but you have to want to get out of this too," Serena said, the frustration slowly ebbing away as she headed back to the door. "And John, if you really want to help us just stay out of this for tonight. We can handle Luscious on our own. Just leave it at that."

He nodded as Kim walked Serena back to the door, a quiet reminder to take her pain medication passing over his head as he contemplated his meal. He wanted to help Kimberly more than anything and if doing as Serena asked would do so then he felt the need to comply.

He was just never good at waiting for someone else to fix his problems for him.

___
It seemed the longer they spent in production mode the higher the price went, both for Kimberly and the show. If someone had told Dakota nearly half a million dollars was on the line during any other show she would have called them mad. But Luscious wanted two things more than anything, one being a show that with a little effort they could move to Broadway by the end of its run, and the second being Kimberly.

She couldn't have wished for better luck but despite her good fortune she had been in the game long enough to know she wasn't out of the woods yet. The entire show relied on Luscious's compliance to finance and his compliance relied on Kimberly's affection.

There was only so many times she could reassuring her client that she was just as enamored with him as he was with her before he demanded to see proof.

Everything she had worked so hard to secure was relying on the success of the dinner to continue. If Luscious left her now she would risk having her side business found out, or even worse having to acknowledge her failure to Collins Grey himself.

She had worked too long to separate herself from him to be willing to go back now. The last thing she wanted was any Grey coming to do her job for her.

The sooner she could set the deal with Luscious in stone the better.

This would be much easier if Serena would stop meddling too , she thought, the piles of paper in front of her carefully laid out with the woman in question's resume on the top.

She had placed so much faith in Serena that she did not consider the possibility of her turning against her. The promise of fame and fortune had kept her in line for a while but as soon as she had replaced her she knew her hold was lost. The only thing keeping Serena from reporting what she knew to the authorities was her one ace in the hole.

Serena may have tricked her old competition into crossing Dakota but at the end of the day only one person really had the ability to remove someone from the theater. A debt collector that ensured anyone who kept the theater from losing any money if a client fell through or if a dancer was let go was the only person above Dakota in rank. While Dakota kept the theater running he kept it safe, taking care of any threat to her businesses wellbeing.

After all, with a name like Morgan it didn't take much to scare people back into line. She couldn't have asked for a better fit for a partner.

He was the power behind any of her threats and the last straw if Serena continued trying to come between her and Luscious's deal. She had only used his services once before to deal with a man who refused to pay for Serena's time out of some strange notion that her feelings for him were genuine. Thankfully Serena had taken so many of Owen's pills that she could not protest Morgan's disposal of the man.

With any luck she wouldn't need to call him in again, Kimberly seemed far more compliant than Serena had and Luscious was far more obedient than the previous investor. As long as Serena didn't meddle too much there would be any need to call Morgan for anything more than to be her plus one for opening night as usual.

Chris helped the show but he held no real power like she or Morgan did. It was her theater with his protection. If Serena attempted to cross her she'd be crossing him as well.

And no one would question anyone's disappearance if Morgan told them to forget about it.

She could even remove John if she wanted. He was simply an inconvenience at the moment as well as the annoying reminder that until she could move a show from the resort to a bigger venue she would remain in the Grey shadow. His vacation couldn't end soon enough as far as she was concerned, but she'd deal with him later.

At the moment she had a lead actress in need of a pep talk and an orange bottle of bite size insurance to make sure things went according to her plan. The only call she wanted to make to Morgan was a friendly one, but she was not above tying up loose ends. Not when so much was on the line.
____
The past three hours had been spent in front of Serena's old dressing room with enough tugging and pulling at Kimberly's face to last her a month. At her departure from the comfort of her penthouse there hadn't been a single drop of makeup on her face but within the first ten minutes of her seeing Serena she could scarcely recognize herself. Her lips and eyes painted like an old Hollywood star to match the bouncing curls she had never imagined she would be able to wear naturally. She may not like very much about how the theater was run, but no matter how hard she tried there was nothing she could say against the makeup skills Serena seemed to have learned.

Even the marks on her neck had been expertly covered up through layers of foundation and a setting powder.

Serena had managed to turn Norma Jean into Marilyn in a matter of hours. She wanted to thank her, to tell John and show off her hair, to be able to enjoy the new get up, but knowing everything had been put on simply for Luscious managed to kill all it's beauty. She barely wanted to see him, much less spend four hours in a chair getting done up for a man she didn't even know.

She wanted out.

"I can't do this," Kimberly said for the third time since her hair had been let down.

"Pretending with you around is one thing but staying on my own with him for that long—"

"Kimberly listen to me, as long as you do what I say everything will be fine. Keep him distracted, talk about the show, or his job, anything but the two of you together." Serena had managed to keep Kim from throwing up so far, but her calm reassurances only lasted so long.

"What if he wants more? Kissing on the cheek maybe, if you really want to push it a peck but I can't even pretend to be interested in Paul, how on earth can I pull this off?"

"Because you have to." Serena's face was stern, a sad tiredness taking over her frail frame in a matter of seconds. "You tell him no, and I swear I'll have someone there to make sure nothing happens, but you have to make him believe there's only him. At least until I can get you out of this for good."

Kimberly wanted to protest but their conversation was quickly interrupted by the quiet buzzing of her cell phone on the countertop, John's texts popping on the screen for the third time that day before Serena cleared the screen. John's presence simply made the task at hand more difficult to accomplish and judging by the amount of uncertainty Kim was already having he was the last influence she needed around.

"Everything will be okay. I'll be covering you at rehearsal tonight and you just have to smile at Luscious until the dinner's over. Just say you don't want any distractions until opening night and get him to keep the ending where you stay with the owner. Make that seem more important than your relationship with him and he should have no reason to push any further."

"Is that how you dealt with your investors?"

"Kim, I barely remember being with any of my investors. Keep your head clear and it'll be fine."

Somehow that wasn't very reassuring.

Before Serena could continue a set of knocks came from the door with a demanding presence that could only belong to one person. The pair didn't even have time to separate from each other's side before the door was pushed open and the tell tale click of Dakota's heels on the tile floor became the only sound in the room.

Serena seemed to stand taller as the two women regarded each other with ferocity of dozens of accusations left unsaid before Serena removed her hand from Kimberly's chair. The only reason for her surrender being the fact she couldn't have an angry Dakota storming around with the problem of Luscious still hanging in the air.

"If you need anything just call," Serena instructed Kimberly before leaving the room, purposefully bumping Dakota's shoulder on her way out.



The gesture was small and barely noticeable, but Kim knew Dakota wouldn't forget it. She was merely waiting for the right time to strike and unfortunately for her remaining civil was necessary a little while longer.

"You look wonderful," Dakota said as though the encounter with Serena never occurred.

"How do you feel?"

Kimberly couldn't have kept her mouth closed if she wanted, her anxiety eating away at any composure she had left. "Sick. Please, can't we just tell him to reschedule? This isn't going to work…"

"Of course it is!" Dakota's smile was almost too sincere, her hands holding onto Kim's shoulders with a possessiveness that surprised her. "Luscious already adores you, all you have to do is look pretty and smile. He'll pay for your retirement if you asked him."

"And what if I tell him I don't want to be with him?"

The question sounded innocent enough in her head but the added pressure to her shoulders was a clear sign she had crossed the line.

Dakota's eyes closed, her well-manicured hands doing the best they could to keep from digging into the Unclad skin underneath them as she knelt down beside Kimberly. A dangerous energy radiating from her like fire as she released her shoulder's to hold Kim's face with one hand, locking eyes after taking a moment to tone down her anger.

"Let me tell you a little something about the world, Kim. This isn't some fairytale with a prince and a white horse who loves you because you're the fairest in all the land. This is the real world, and it's gritty and it's dirty and we take what we can get. What you want is a stage perfectly lit and a theater full of people loving you like the world never has. Right?"

Despite everything Kim found herself nodding, Dakota's piercing stare breaking down her resolve slowly.

"Well Luscious is the man offering it to you on a silver platter. His offering you everything you could ever want and all he's asking for in return are a few kisses and sweet words. He's the best man you can be hoping to get Kimberly.

You can't afford to lose him."

Dakota hands now rested on top of Kim's, quieting her urges to scream in protest that she was worth so more much than money and some promises. She had John and he loved her. He was worth so much more than Luscious could ever be worth. He was the one she couldn't afford to lose.

But none of her protests managed to escape her lips as long as Dakota kept their gazes locked.

"Everyone is nervous their first time meeting an investor, but nothing will happen. He cares far to much about you to let you worry." There was the vague sensation of something being pushed against the palm of her hand as Dakota stood up. "You've just let Serena get inside your head. You wont repeat the same mistakes she did."

Kimberly found herself nodding as she looked back into the mirror. The woman staring back at her seemed a complete stranger from the red smile to the sultry black eyes. If there was any consolation to the deal it was that this woman would be meeting Luscious and not the Kimberly who had spent the morning by John side.

"Good. Now take a few of these and you'll be fine. It's just a little stage fright."

Slowly Kimberly lowered her eyes to her open palm. The unmistakable shape of the pills she had specifically elected to avoid now calling to her. She counted four, twice what Mark had deemed safe on an empty stomach. She doubted any were safe to take on top of pain medication.

But she knew it was even less safe to cross Dakota a second time.

Her phone buzzed, a desperate cry from John to talk to him. Dakota's hand clamped over her own, lifting the pills to her mouth. The woman in the mirror closed her eyes.

Kimberly swallowed the pills.

The woman smiled.


...to be continued


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June 26, 2017