Adekunle Gold Says He Was Relieved When Beyoncé’s Team Rejected His Song ‘Simile’
Nigerian singer and songwriter Adekunle Gold has revealed the emotional backstory behind “Simile,” a song originally written for American superstar Beyoncé in 2019 that remained unreleased for six years before finally appearing on his own album last year.
Speaking during an appearance on the One54 Africa podcast, Gold recalled the excitement he initially felt when Beyoncé’s team reached out inviting him to submit a song for her 2019 project, “The Lion King: The Gift.” “I was so excited about writing for Beyoncé because that’s my GOAT,” he said, describing the opportunity as one he had long dreamed of given his admiration for the superstar. However, the timing of the invitation coincided with one of the most painful periods of his life, as Gold had just lost his father, a loss he has said left him deeply affected and initially unable to focus on music at all.
Gold explained that he eventually forced himself back into his small Lagos studio, pouring his grief directly into what would become “Simile,” a Yoruba word meaning “rest on me.” He described the writing process as intensely personal, saying the song became so tied to his emotional state at the time that he found himself hoping, even as he submitted it, that Beyoncé’s team would ultimately pass on the track. “It felt too personal that I didn’t want Beyoncé to have it,” he said. In further comments shared around the same period, Gold reflected on how the song’s creation was intertwined with trying to reconnect with a father he said he had not known well for most of his life, only to lose him just as their relationship was deepening.
Gold submitted the song late, and it was ultimately not selected for the final “Lion King: The Gift” tracklist, a project that went on to feature contributions from several other Nigerian artists including Wizkid, Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, Yemi Alade, Tekno and Mr Eazi. Rather than feeling disappointed by the rejection, Gold said he felt genuine relief, recognising that the song had become too personal to hand over to anyone else, regardless of how significant the opportunity might otherwise have been.
“Simile” went on to remain unreleased for six years, largely forgotten, until Gold’s longtime collaborator revisited the track during a studio session in 2024, prompting him to reconsider the song’s place in his catalogue. The track eventually found a home on Gold’s sixth studio album, “Fuji,” released on October 3, 2025, a 15-track project drawing from Yoruba musical traditions and blending fuji, apala, tungba and Afrobeats influences. Gold has said he hopes the song can offer comfort to listeners navigating their own experiences of grief and loss.
Reflecting on the song’s unusual journey, from a rejected superstar pitch to a deeply personal centrepiece of his own album, Gold’s account underscores how songs can take on entirely new meanings and purposes as artists grow, heal and eventually become ready to share the stories behind them.
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