Backup singer explains why late Saint Janet switched from gospel Juju to explicit songs

A backup singer of the late Nigerian Juju and Highlife musician Iyun Ajilore, popularly known as Saint Janet, has explained why the singer moved from gospel Juju to songs with sexually explicit themes.

Sunkanmi, known as Suko, who said he had known Saint Janet for more than 25 years, told Alejo TV on Tuesday that she adopted the style after discovering it attracted more audience engagement, bookings and money at social events. He first met her when she was still a backup singer for Nurse Kenge and he worked as a freelance drummer. When she formed her own band he followed her.

Saint Janet began with a mixture of Juju and gospel, rehearsing at a Celestial Church. Their first studio recording attracted little attention and the cassettes gathered dust. She continued performing at weddings, bars and beer parlours but struggled to draw the desired response with gospel material. That pressure led her to experiment with a style that incorporated sexual themes and the real situations unfolding at events, delivered in a preacher-like manner adapted to secular settings.

Suko said the new approach quickly produced higher earnings on stage and more bookings from clubs and bars. She did not abandon gospel entirely; inspiration for those songs still came. At one wedding the bride’s family insisted she perform the newer material even though children were present. The band raised concerns, but the family overruled them. When she switched, the spraying of money increased sharply compared with the gospel segment.

Some churches later requested the explicit songs as well. Suko remained with the band because the relationship had become familial. He recalled her final performance, during which she publicly acknowledged his long support, gave him her wristwatch and sprayed money on him. He later wished he had recognised it as a farewell.

Saint Janet’s children said she complained of chest pain and difficulty breathing the day after performing in Sango, Ogun State. She was taken to hospital, given oxygen, and later lost her pulse. The shift in musical style was presented by Suko as a practical response to audience demand rather than a sudden ideological break. The market rewarded the change; the gospel material never fully disappeared.