A Year of Mixed Blessings in the Entertainment Industry

Fri, Dec 23, 2016
By publisher
4 MIN READ

BREAKING NEWS, Entertainment

By Anayo Ezugwu  |

IT was a year of creativity, celebrations and mourning in the Nigerian entertainment industry. In 2016, some artistes who did not make much impact in the industry in 2015, made waves with their songs. Songs like Pana by Tekno; Mungo Park by Korede Bello; Oluwani by Reekado Banks; Fada Fada by Phyno featuring Olamide, and Mama by Kiss Daniel debuted with tremendous success.

Others are One Dance by Drake featuring Wizkid and Kyle; Obianuju by Flavour; Osinachi by Humblesmith featuring Davido; I like the Way by Timaya; Another Level by Patoranking, and Emergency by D’Banj.

In a show of its dominance in African music, Nigerian musicians on Sunday, November 6, humbled their counterparts from other parts of the continent as they carted away some of the big awards at the 2016 All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA, in Lagos, Nigeria. Among the music stars that made the country proud were Wizkid, Falz, Flavour, Olamide, Phyno, Patoranking, Niniola and Aramide.

Flavour won in two categories as Best Artiste/Duo/Group/Band in African Contemporary and the Best Male Artiste, Western Africa, Falz was named as the Revelation of the year, while Aramide won Best Female Artist Western Africa and Phyno emerged winner of African Fans Favorite award. Patoranking went home with Best Artist/Duo/Group African Ragga and Dancehall award.

Wizkid also won two awards at the MTV Africa Music Awards, MAMA, and the MTV EMA Europe awards and was adjudged Africa’s Artiste of the Year. He beat the likes of South Africa’s Black Coffee, Ghana’s Sarkodie and Diamond Platnumz from Tanzania among others to clinch the coveted trophy.

Wizkid is also nominated for the 2016 Grammy award. With this development, Wizkid has entered another ‘hall of fame’ following the likes of King Sunny Ade and Femi Anikulapo Kuti, who have been nominated for the Grammy twice and four times, respectively.

The nomination did not directly come to him because of his own work but for featuring in Drake’s hit single One Dance. The track is from Drake’s hit album, Views, which makes the Album of the Year category at the 2016 Grammy.

The entertainment industry also witnessed scandals in the year under review with Chidinma Okeke, 2015 Miss Anambra being dethroned over sex tape saga. Okeke was dethroned after the allegedly sex tape video of herself and a friend hit the internet. The video released showed the Nigerian pageant winner in an explicit sex scene with another woman, but she denied it immediately after the video began spreading on social media, saying that the video was actually another person and blaming what appeared to be her appearance on trick photography.

In the wake of the sex tape saga of former Anambra, there have been worries that other pageants may not hold as much credibility as they used to. The Miss Anambra saga which Nollywood is even attempting to make into movie raised many questions about pageants in Nigeria and some enthusiastic pundits have been painting all sorts of pictures of what to expect in future.

In April, there was also controversy over the break-up of the marriage between Tiwa Savage and her husband Tunji Balogun, fondly called Tee Billz. Tee Billz alleged that his wife was sleeping with some artistes in the industry and threatened to end the three-year old marriage.

He wrote on his Instagram account @ teebillz323, “Lord knows I tried. I have been mentally tortured by the woman I gave everything to. I’m not perfect but I’m far away from being the best husband. Because when I don’t have you paid the bills and you took my manhood away. You have thrown my clothes out of the house more than five times because of the love I have for you. I still take it and because of Jamil. I don’t want to go through divorce like my father that has been married four times.”

Another sad development in the entertainment industry in 2016 is the death of  some veterans. OJB Jereel, music producer, died on June 26, after his kidney transplant in India in 2014. Bukky Ajayi, legendary actress, died on July 6, at the age of 82. Also Henrietta Kosoko, actress died on June 6. The actress is said to have died after collapsing on that faithful day.  Kosoko was wife of legendary actor Jide Kosoko.

Mile Odachie also died in 2016. The actor is famed for his roles in Eastern-themed Nollywood movies.

— Jan 2, 2017 @ 01:00 GMT

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