Afrobeats singer Adekunle Gold has opened up about the personal story behind his 2019 hit song Simile, describing it as a song born out of grief and uncertainty.
The singer said he wrote the track shortly after losing his father, at a time when he felt lost and was searching for strength to deal with his emotions.
He wrote, ‘When I wrote ‘Simile’ in 2019, I had just lost my father, and I was lost in a way that is difficult to explain. I wrote this song from that place, asking for something to lean on when I didn’t know how to carry everything I was feeling.’
He noted that performing the same song years later with an orchestra brought back memories of who he was when he first wrote it.
According to him, the younger version of himself could not have imagined that he would still be making music seven years later, living out dreams that once felt distant.
‘Performing that same song with an orchestra years later reminded me of the person I was when I wrote it. He couldn’t have imagined this moment. He couldn’t have imagined that 7 years later, he would still be here, still making music, still dreaming, and actually living some of the dreams that once felt so far away’.
He added that the song should be a source of hope for anyone going through a difficult period, stressing that tough times do not last forever.
‘Simile reminds me that life can change in ways you cannot see when you are in the middle of the darkest part of it. So whatever you’re going through, let Simile remind you that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Your darkest moments won’t last forever’, he concluded.
Released in 2019, Simile remains one of the singer’s most loved songs and is widely regarded as a reflection of love, loss, and resilience.