Here's everything you should know about the late Gospel singer

  Eric Arubayi was born in Delta State to Professor Eric and Diana Arubayi.

His father Prof. Eric Arubayi was the vice chancellor of Delta State University, and his childhood was spent in the town of Abraka, where he grew up with his three siblings – Erica, Derrick and Daniel.

  Eric Arubayi and his three siblings: Erica, Derrick & Daniel.
(Instagram)

Eric Arubayi was greatly influenced by Boys II Men. “I copied their style of singing at a time by forming a musical group of four where we did all the gymnastics and all that.” He said.

In 2007, he became the third runner-up on singing reality TV show – West African Idol reality TV show. Timi Dakolo was the winner, and Omawumi also competed.

  Eric Arubayi and Timi Dakolo are friends.
(Twitter)

Eric dabbled into interior decoration after the show. He wanted to flex his business hands on something other than music.

He released his debut album “Redefined” in 2011.

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Eric always believed in the Nigerian music industry getting better. He said so in numerous interviews. “I believe we can do better, especially from the big acts, I expect a little more from them. It's so sad knowing most of them don't perform live; instead they prefer miming their own songs while on live stage. We need to make creativity vibrant in this industry”.

Eric tied the knot with model Chinonso in Delta State, on December 28, 2013.

Eric’s wife, Chinonso is a makeup artiste, YouTube beauty vlogger & content creator with Spice TV.

He released a song titled ‘My Everything’ to celebrate the marriage. Speaking on the single, Eric said, “Its amazing how God has been good to me and a whole lot of people can relate to this hence I call him my everything”

play Eric Arubayi and his wife Chinonso, during her pregnancy in 2014.
(Instagram)

The young couple welcomed a son – Jayden Arubayi – on Jan 3, 2015.

Eric was a very active member of House On The Rock Church. He was a lead singer of the church’s acclaimed choir.

Eric hated plain water. He once stated in an interview with Daily Trust that he couldn’t stand the stuff. “I don’t like drinking water,” Eric said. “Most times I find it hard to drink water just as it is, plainly. I always need something in it like a squeeze of orange or any other fruit.”

play Eric Arubayi and his family: Chinonso and young Jayden.
(Instagram)

Eric loved charity, and gave back as much as he could. In an interview with Modern Ghana, he explained some of his efforts at improving the lives of the less privileged:

“One of the most touching moments of my life was when I saw an abandoned baby in an orphanage. I was touched because the little baby was abandoned on the roadside with ants crawling all over it. I could not bear the sight of it.

"I am presently responsible for the little baby’s upkeep and I intend to do more. I remember when I was in Kenya, I met a lot of kids there with HIV and I wanted to do something special for them so I got them a year’s subscription of DSTV. I want to do more here. Not because of the publicity but I feel that God has been good to me. Life has been wonderful to me and I don’t ever want to forget that there are people who are probably not as lucky as I am”

Eric Arubayi died on Saturday, February 11, 2017, at the Delta State University Teaching Hospital after battling an illness.

Eric complained of feeling weak, and was rushed to the health center. But reports have confirmed through that the singer is dead.