By Henryrich Ojo | Newsworld

Nigerian singer Adekunle Gold has revealed that he wrote a song for American superstar Beyoncé’s 2019 The Lion King project, but secretly hoped the song would be rejected so he could keep and eventually release it himself.

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Adekunle Gold disclosed this while speaking on the One 54 podcast, recalling how his manager informed him in 2019 that Parkwood Entertainment, Beyoncé’s company, had contacted his team to request a song for the project.

The singer said the opportunity came at a difficult period in his life, as he was in Los Angeles, United States, when he received the news that his father had died in Lagos.

According to him, the songwriting opportunity initially thrilled him because Beyoncé was one of his biggest musical inspirations. However, the death of his father left him emotionally unable to fully concentrate on the assignment.

“I was so excited about writing for Beyoncé because that’s my GOAT, you get? So I was like, how am I going to write a song when I just lost my dad?” he recalled.

Adekunle Gold said his manager continued encouraging him to make an attempt despite the deadline for submissions. He eventually went into the studio and wrote a song titled “Simile.”

However, the singer said the song became so personal to him that he did not want Beyoncé to have it.

He explained that although he was expected to submit the song, he did so late and privately hoped Beyoncé would not select it.

“When I wrote the song, it felt too personal that I didn’t want Beyoncé to have it. I didn’t want her to have it. I was supposed to submit anyways, so I just kind of submitted the song like, I hope she doesn’t like it enough to leave it for me.”

The strategy ultimately worked, according to the singer. He said the song was submitted too late and was not selected for the project, allowing him to retain it.

Adekunle Gold disclosed that he eventually completed “Simile” in 2020 and later released the song on his latest album.

Reflecting on the experience, the singer described the opportunity to write for Beyoncé as an extraordinary moment in his career.

“Writing for Beyoncé, yeah, that’s crazy. That’s insane.”

The revelation adds another chapter to Adekunle Gold’s international career, highlighting an opportunity that could have connected him directly to one of the world’s biggest music stars but instead resulted in a song he ultimately kept for his own catalogue.