Why I grew up thinking my sister Niniola was jealous of me – Singer, Teni

Nigerian singer Teniola Apata, popularly known as Teni, has revealed that she once believed her sister Niniola was jealous of her talent.

She opened up about this during a recent episode of the Tea With Tay podcast while discussing her relationship with her sister who is also a famous singer.

Reflecting on their childhood, Teni recalled how she and her sisters used to rehearse together. She mentioned that her eldest sister, Doyin, would always compliment her voice, but Niniola would often argue that her voice was not ‘sweet.’

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Teni revealed that this constant criticism had led her to believe that Nini was jealous of her singing talent.

In her words;

“My elder sister, the one that’s older than Nini [Niniola], Doyin, maybe she was deceiving because she didn’t want to hurt me; she used to tell me I have a melodic voice whenever I sing during my childhood. Nini, on the other hand, would tell me my voice isn’t sweet. So, I thought she was jealous of me.

“She [Niniola] called me aside and told me not to let Doyin deceive me. She now said, ‘You sing from your stomach.’ So, every time Nini sings, I would watch her sing. So, I also started singing from my stomach.

“There was a time my school organised an event, I sang and the whole school stood up and was clapping for me. I said, ‘I’ve arrived.’ I went back home to tell Nini that I sang in school and everybody was clapping and she said I should sing what I sang. I sang it and Nini too clapped for me. I said, ‘Okay, we are up to something.”