"Jack Campin" wrote

| Sade (pronounced Sha-day) is a Nigerian-born English singer who
| pronounces her name that way because that's how you say it in
| Yoruba, which is her father's native language. The band was
| named after her.
|

Yes, I gathered that. Though the link says her name
is actually Helen and Sade is a nickname based on part
of her middle name.

Whether or not the name is "authentic", the whole
presentation fit and I could see why the comedian
made the joke. The topic was excessive valorizing
of language, especially for marketing purposes. The
way I saw it, from their videos, the band Sade was
marketing a sexy, soulful, stylish, moodiness. The kind
of smoky, elegant swank one might like for background
music in an upscale bar. Hot jazz. Passion. Living to the
hilt. But marketing was arguably all they achieved. (As
does hot jazz, for that matter.) There was an over-the-
top feel to it and the vocalist was not notably sexy
nor soulful.
The name, then, seemed to fit the strategy, thus
being easy pickings for a comedian. That, of course,
is only my musically-untrained personal opinion. I didn't
mean to upset Sade fans. But even if you loved their
music wouldn't you agree they were peddling swank?
I don't imagine for a moment that the French-ish hint
of elegance that "ShahDAY" conveys in English, and
the secondary association with Marquis de Sade, went
unrecognized when they were naming the band. It's
exotic. In other words, if the lead vocalist were in the
habit of using her first name, Helen, something tells
me they wouldn't have named the band "Helen"....
Though I suppose they still could have pronounced
that ShahDAY.