AsBlessing Offorcontinues his upward trek toward genre-less stardom, one question has continued to swirl around the multi-week No. 1 Billboard artist.
Could ‘Blessing’ be, in fact, his real name?
“I literally just got off the phone with my dad the other day and we were talking aboutexactlythis,” Offor laughs during a recent interview with PEOPLE. “He was saying, ‘Yeah, we named you right. You are a blessing. We always knew you would be.'”
Indeed, the birth certificate of the Nigeria-turned-New York-turned Nashville native does in fact list the name ‘Blessing Offor,’ much to the delight of all those who have felt the virtual sunshine permeating off his voice since breaking onto the music scene back in 2020. During the past few tumultuous years, Offor has scored cuts on the albums of everyone from Chris Tomlin toLee Briceand released his debut EPBrighter Daysback in February.
Blessing Offor.Caleb Shane
He did all this while completely blind.
“If you’re going through hard things, embrace it,” explains Offor, who lost the entirety of his sight when he was just 11 years old after an accident and on top of the congenital glaucoma diagnosis that he had already received as a young child. “And then after you go through those hard things, look for the fruit that comes from it. You have to have somethinghardin your life to appreciate somethingbeautifulin your life.”
Some of that beauty continues to come from the memories Offor holds close to his heart of his home in Nigeria before his sight was taken from him.
As a teen, that sun began shining brighter on Offor, as he moved to New York City, and then later to Nashville to study music at Belmont University. Flash forward to today, as Offor preps to release his full-length debutMy Tribein January.
“I feel like my music falls into what I call ‘the genre of humanity,'” remarks Offor, who garnered a 2022 Dove Award nomination for new artist of the year. “I want anybody to walk into this record and find themselves within it. I want them to feel the honesty of it.”
It was an honesty that was created mostly during the lockdowns of the pandemic and that now will forever be able to be heard in songs such as “Feel Good” and his current single “Won’t Be Long Now.”
“The world was so busy making all the noise it likes to make, and all of a sudden, this thing we all went through together made us all sit still,” says Offor, who will head out next year on tour alongside Christian rock artist Zach Williams. “We got to realize that we’renotin control. I think that freaked out a lot of people, because we live our lives based on the idea thatweare in control. But the fact is that life can turn itself upside down anytime it wants to.”
It’s this phenomenon that is occurring as we speak in the professional life of Offor, who made his Grand Ole Opry debut back in October, a performance that resulted in multiple standing ovations following his renditions of his song “Tin Roof” and his top 5 hit “Brighter Days.”
“You know what’s funny is that I think being blind is a humbling thing for me,” concludes Offor, who hung out backstage at the legendary venue with the likes ofDierks BentleyandRascal Flatts’ Gary LeVox. “When I’m on stage and I’m playing and people are having the reaction they’re having — whether it’s a standing ovation or what — in my mind I just have to think to myself that I think they like it. I hope they’re smiling.”
He laughs.
“I feel like if I could look out and see the standing ovation, it would feel really good. But what’s even more cool isfeelingit. That feeling is magical.”
source: people.com
