Who is Shaboozey? A Bar Song (Tipsy) singer’s age, real name, relationships and more explained

12 February 2025, 14:40

Shaboozey sky-rocketed to fame after the release of his 2024 hit 'A Bar Song (Tipsy)'.

Shaboozey made history last year after his single ‘A Bar Song (Tipsy)’ tied with Lil Nas X’s song ‘Old Town Road’ as the longest-running Billboard Hot 100 number one song of all time.

But beyond the rapper and singer-songwriter's 19-week-long chart streak, what is there to know about the genre-blending artist?

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Smooth Country has all the details, from the ‘Highway’ singer’s musical origins, stage name meaning and more...

Shaboozey - A Bar Song (Tipsy) [Official Visualizer]

How old is Shaboozey?

Shaboozey was born on May 9, 1995, making the singer 29 years old.

Shaboozey spent most of his childhood in Woodbridge, Virginia, but lived in Nigeria for two years while he attended a boarding school for junior high.

What is Shaboozey’s real name?

Shaboozey’s full name is Collins Obinna Chibueze.

The singer-songwriter got his stage name from a memorable mispronunciation of his surname (an Igbo word that means 'God is King') by a football coach when he was a freshman at high school.

Shaboozey - Highway (Official Video)

This coach even wrote his misconstruction of Collins’ last name on the future musician’s football helmet, leading to the rapper eventually being called ‘Shaboozey’ by everyone at the school.

Shaboozey chose to own the name in later life by using it as his performing title.

Why does the page tilt when you google ‘Shaboozey’?

In late 2024, old and new fans alike were surprised when Google introduced a feature which briefly wiggles the search results screen for ‘Shaboozey’ to the left and right of your screen.

The effect also occurs if you google the singer’s hit song ‘A Bar Song (Tipsy)’, inspired by the single's lyrics after its success last summer.

Shaboozey - "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" [2024 Billboard Music Awards]

Shaboozey commented on the phenomenon while speaking with E! at the Grammys in 2025, joking that like many fans, his friends and family have also been confused by the effect.

“It’s funny to see some people I know and some fans going online and being like, ‘What’s wrong with my phone!?’” he said., laughing. “Shoutout to the Google team for coming up with such a cool idea."

How did Shaboozey get into making music?

Shaboozey became interested in music as a child, after being introduced to a variety of genres from country stars like Kenny Rogers and Garth Brooks, to traditional Nigerian songs by his father.

Speaking with GQ magazine in April 2024, the ‘Good News’ singer revealed how his father’s Nigerian farming background seemingly connected him and his family to the American country's obsession with the outdoors.

“In Virginia, everyone's always outdoors... but then Nigeria as well. I lived there for two years and it's also the same,” he explained. “I definitely think there's a connection there.”

Shaboozey didn’t grow up wanting to be a musician, however. As he told Harper’s Bazaar in May 2024, originally, he wanted to become an author.

He said to GQ: “Music came to me very organically. There was never any point where there was a chase or anything.”

But inspirations from his father’s music and his own discoveries of various artists including Prince, Usher, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen led the young star to work on his own music.

In his early music-making days, Shaboozey released his tracks on SoundCloud, where he experimented with his sound while developing his first loyal base of fans.

What are Shaboozey’s most popular songs?

Shaboozey released his debut album Lady Wrangler in October 2018.

Demonstrating a skilled blend of hip hop and country on its 11 songs, the album immediately identified Shaboozey as one to watch.

Shaboozey - Good News

In 2022, the then 27-year-old released his sophomore album, Cowboys Live Forever, Outlaws Never Die.

But it was two features on Beyoncé’s album Cowboy Carter and the release of his third album, Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going in 2024 which really skyrocketed Shaboozey to mainstream fame.

Some of Shaboozey’s most popular songs are:

• A Bar Song (Tipsy)
• SPAGHETTII (with Beyoncé, also feat. Lina Martell)
• Sweet Honey Buckiin’ (with Beyoncé)
• Good News
• Highway
• Start a Riot (with Duckwrth)
• Tall Boy
• Drink Don’t Need No Mix (feat. BigXthaPlug)
• Jeff Gordon
• Golden Child

Who is Shaboozey dating?

It is unknown who if anyone Shaboozey is dating at the moment, although the ‘SPAGHETTII’ singer was linked to model Emily Ratajkowski in the summer of 2024.

The multi-Grammy nominee and actress were spotted out and about in New York in late August, with People reporting that the pair attended a screening of Zoë Kravitz’s movie Blink Twice together.

Ratajkowski was also spotted in the crowd at Z100 Summer Bash where Shaboozey was performing earlier that summer, further adding fire to rumours from Page Six that the pair were an item.

Shaboozey was in a relationship with a mystery woman until sometime around June 2024.

While at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the singer-songwriter got emotional during his performance, later apologising to the crowd: “I’m sorry. I just had a breakup and this song gets me.

“She was amazing and helped me grow, but now it’s over,” Us Weekly also reported he said.