Nigerian music star Davido has shared the unexpected story behind the female lead in the music video for his 2014 hit song “Aye.”

Speaking during an interview on Capital XTRA, Davido explained that the woman originally selected as the lead actress was unable to participate because she was under contract as a pageant contestant.

According to him:

“The girl who was meant to be the lead was in a pageant. We were about to shoot when her manager called to say the pageant organizers had reminded them she was under contract, so we couldn’t use her.”

With filming already scheduled, the production team quickly found a replacement.

“We ended up using her makeup artist, and when the music video blew up, the two of them fell out.”

However, Davido later clarified the story in a comment, stating that the two women did not actually fall out, correcting the impression created by the anecdote.

Released 12 years ago, “Aye” remains one of Davido’s most popular songs and is widely regarded as one of the standout music videos of his early career.