Shaboozey’s nickname was inspired by a misspelling of his real name

Shaboozey didn’t come up with his own stage name — in fact, the rising country star’s professional name was inspired by a mistake, he said in an Oct. 3 interview with Billboard magazine.

Shaboozey, born Collins Obinna Chibueze, is the son of Nigerian parents. While he spent two years at a boarding school in Nigeria for middle school, he went to high school where he grew up, near Woodbridge, Virginia.

At one point in high school, his football coach misspelled his name. However, the mistake eventually turned into the singer’s stage name, now known to millions of listeners who stream his music.

Shaboozey told Billboard that growing up as a Nigerian in the suburbs “can be a little confusing at times.”

“Hearing your name (mispronounced) in attendance was always a big deal; you felt like you had to make it easier for everyone else to understand,” he said.

According to Billboard, Chibueze means “God is King” in the Igbo language spoken in Nigeria. The “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” singer and newly crowned Best New Artist at the People’s Choice Country Awards aptly said, “If I do anything, I’ll make sure I’m damn good at it.

In June, Shaboozey shared more of the story behind his nickname during an interview with 102.7 KIISFM.

“Playing high school football as a freshman, you come in and you’re the type of guy who has to prove himself,” he said. “And my coach saw my name and said, ‘Shaboozey,’ and wrote it on his helmet – exactly how it’s spelled as my artist’s name – and slammed it on my helmet.

Shaboozey admitted his mistake and added, “As a freshman, they want you to get your rankings, and I just thought it would be cool.

“For years in high school and in Woodbridge, that’s what I was called and everyone in town knew me that,” he said. “I thought it was cool to just address my football coaches like, ‘Look at me now.’”

The singer said he doesn’t keep in touch with his former soccer coach, who accidentally gave him his stage name, but joked: “He might come to the table every night and say, ‘Did you know I called him that?'”

While Shaboozey released two albums in 2018 and 2022, he stepped into the spotlight even more in 2024 when he featured on two songs on Beyoncé’s album “Cowboy Carter.”

His 2024 single “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” was named one of the top 5 songs of the summer on Spotify. The song also made Shaboozey the second black artist after Beyoncé to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs charts.

Last month, he was nominated for 12 People’s Choice Country Awards and won two for “A Bar Song (Tipsy).”