Shaboozey‘s fans know that his real name is Collins Obinna Chibueze, but casual listeners might not be aware of how he arrived at his now-famous moniker.
Shaboozey’s Real Name: Collins Obinna Chibueze
During an appearance at SiriusXM’s The Highway Music Row Happy Hour: CMA Fest Edition during CMA Fest earlier this month, the “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” hitmaker explained that it was a case of mispronunciation that led him to adopt his stage name.
“I have a strange name for anybody to pronounce. I think everyone just kind of read it and was just like, ‘Shaboozey’ and I was like, you know what? I’m not going to fight it,” he said, pointing to a specific instance where his high school football coach incorrectly spelled his surname as “Shaboozey.”
That ultimately became his stage name after the singer decided to start sharing his music, which was initially a hobby. “I just asked my friends, I was like, ‘Man, what do you guys think my stage name should be?’” Shaboozey told Cody Alan. “And I remember the story vividly. They’re like, ‘Man Shaboozey, just do that.’”
Story Behind The “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” Singer’s Stage Name
Shaboozey, whose parents are Nigerian, previously shared the same story with Billboard, explaining that it was difficult growing up in the suburbs of Virginia with a name that wasn’t the norm. Shaboozey’s surname is Nigerian, specifically an Igbo word that means “God is king.”
“It could be a little confusing at times,” he said. “Hearing your name [mispronounced] during attendance was always a thing; you felt like you had to make it easier for everyone else to understand.”
It was from his dad that Shaboozey learned about country music, listening to playlists that contained icons like Don Williams and Kenny Rogers. After moving to Los Angeles, Shaboozey leaned further into the study of music but kept coming back to country. “In that [period of] discovery, I found country music to be the thing that resonated with me in a really strong way,” he said. “Me being from Virginia, me loving the style and the way of life and the things they talked about. It all seemed very peaceful. It seemed like I could be real.”
He released his first album, Lady Wrangler, in 2018, followed by Cowboys Live Forever, Outlaws Never Die in 2022. But it was “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” that changed his life – after a member of Beyoncé’s team heard the song before it was released, he got the call to feature on her album, Cowboy Carter. Combined with the official release of “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” things took off, leading to his 2024 album Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going and all the success he’s seen since. That includes a performance at the BET Awards last year, which further cemented his status in both country and hip-hop.
“Traditionally, I feel like country music wasn’t really accepted in that space as much,” Shaboozey reflected of the moment. “I even felt — whether that’s my own insecurity or [self-judgment] — ‘Is this thing really connecting with people?’ as I’m performing the song. That’s my biggest fear… when I’m feeling out of place in this space. But that’s what I want to do with my music: be disruptive and show people that music is progressing.”
