The good, the bad…the crazy!!! The year that was 2015

Already year 2015 has come to an end, and what a year it has been! From my own personal highlights to the many exciting highlights in the showbiz industry, I take a look at the year that was 2015.

The new guy

When Sarkodie told the world he was ‘the new guy’ through his collaboration with American rapper, Ace Hood, he was trending throughout on social media. From the announcement of the single, through to the shooting of the video in the US, up to the release of the single, ‘New Guy’ became the term for anyone seen as the man of the moment. So in this review, I will use the heading in such broad terms.

There was so much hype around the release of Sarkodie’s ‘New Guy’ single but sadly the biggest memory most people would have of the song is the controversy that ensued after Ace Hood tweeted suggesting that Sarkodie had paid him $25,000 before he agreed to feature on the record. The rapper made these comments in response to a video that was shared on Twitter, in which Sarkodie claiming in an interview that Ace Hood’s management rather reached out to Sarkodie for collaboration! ‘The new Sarkodie’ appeared to be rather boastful, and he had bitten off more than he could chew!

Sarkodie nonetheless had a great year including the release of his 4^th Studio album, ‘Mary’ in memory of his late grandmother. He also made headlines with his sold-out concert at the iconic Apollo Theater in New York. And who can forget his brush with the law when the new car he bought was reported to the police as a stolen car. Sarkodie was also served with a writ for not fulfilling his obligations to a concert promoter in Russia, before he ended the year on a good note with his sold out annual concert, Rapperholic at the Accra International Conference Centre.

My new guy for 2015 was certainly Stonebwoy. After winning Ghana Music Awards Artist Of the Year, he continued his good year winning several International awards including BET Award, All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) and others. He also toured with iconic reggae group, Morgan Herritage among many other highlights.

One of the biggest breakthrough acts of 2015 was Wisa Greid with his smash hit, ‘Ekiki Me’ and before the end of the year, he made the bravest attempt on the new guy title with his performance at Citi FM’s annual concert, Decemba 2 Rememba. Wisa in the heat of his performance pulled down his pants and pulled out his penis to the disgust of Ghanaians. He trended in the media throughout the Christmas period for his crazy act of indecency as well as the disappointing size of his manhood. Wisa is clearly the ‘new guy’ that everyone is talking about, but for how long will that last and what next will we be talking about him for? Is his young career over or is he going to jail as he is currently facing prosecution for his actions.

Crazy…the new cool

So was there anything crazier than Wisa Greid pulling out his tiny penis on stage? Well perhaps the only thing that came close was weird story surrounding Y FM (Takoradi) presenter named Adaeze Onyinyechie Ayoka aka Princess Ada. The whole nation was filled with fury when pictures suggesting that Princess Ada had been abducted and raped by a gang hit Facebook. The was a national outcry for the police to hunt down the perpetrators of the inhumane act but surprising we were hit with a crazy twist which suggested that Ada had staged everything just to get attention from her boyfriend. She was declared mentally unstable and is currently undergoing psycho-analysis and rehabilitation.

Dum-mellowed

In May, for the first time in the history of the Entertainment Industry, Yvonne Nelson took it upon herself, together with other celebrities, to add their voices to the masses in protest against the energy crisis in the country. She started campaign tagged #DumsorMustStop to mount pressure government to address the energy situation in a better manner. The campaign received massive public support leading to a well-attended peaceful vigil. The campaign didn’t immediately bring an end to ‘Dumsor’ it only mellowed the ‘Dum’ a bit for Ghanaians and in the process ended Yvonne’s great friendship with colleague actor, John Dumelo !

Comebacks and reinventions

2015 saw the resurgence of many old faces. Pastor Ofori Amponsah, who quit secular music for some years to pursue full-time ministry, preaching the word of God, returned highlife music with the release of a new song, ‘Alewa’ featuring Sarkodie. The move was met with a huge backlash from the Christian world, the world of showbiz and his fans. His calling into ‘the ministry’ was questioned, and to make matters worse, the Pastor couldn’t even recite a verse from the bible during a radio interview.

2015 also saw Reggie Zippy and Bollie making a comeback that shook the world! The two who are now based in the UK took over the headlines in Ghana in UK as they appeared on Britain’s Got Talent as Menn On Point, and later on The X-Factor as Reggie N Bollie. The duo went as far as winning second position on The X-Factor.

Praye also announced their reunion in 2015 with Praye Tintin and Praye Tiatia, but Praye Honeho has not yet shown any interest in joining. Praye Tintin left the group due to disagreements with fellow group members. Tiatia and Honeho remained as a group and released several singles before agreeing to dissolve the group to pursue solo careers. The reunited Praye is yet to release a new single though they have been performing together at several shows since coming back together.

Where’s Nana Aba?

Popular TV3 host and news anchor Nana Aba Anamoah has an interesting year first by having people say ‘Nana Aba was there’ and later got them guessing where she was going. Nana Aba became the talk of town when she shared photos suggesting that she was in old Trafford to watch a Manchester United match. Nana Aba who explained that she was only playing a prank on her twitter followers became the ridicule of social media as several ‘Nana Aba Was there’ memes flooded the internet. The incident led to a suspension from the management of TV3 and Nana Aba, who was mourning the death of her father, eventually resigned from TV 3. After her resignation, there news now became about where Nana Aba was heading to next. She was linked to moving to UTV and even Joy FM until finally I became clear she would be going to GhOne.

The big shuffle!

2015 witnessed a lot of media personalities moving around from one media house to the other. With the Bola Ray led EIB Network leading the war on poaching media personalities, Global Media Alliance’s YFM became the biggest loser in the media wars. YFM morning show Ryse N Shyne host, Ms Naa first left for Live FM and eventually returned to YFM after some few months. However YFM lost more presenters to EIB Group including Jay Foley, Sammy Forson and Giovanni. Afia Schwarzenegger left Happy FM for Kasapa FM and Fiifa Banson left Peace FM also for Kasapa FM. The EIB group also acquired GhOne Television and they continue to look for big names lead the new image of the channel.

PDA, weddings and divorce

2015 was a year of many love stories. Paedae of R2bees and Sandra Ankobiah finally made it public that they were dating – well after they accidentally left hints on instagram. After previously denying their relationship in the media, the two finally confirmed they were an item in several separate interviews.

Love came in a different form for ace broadcast journalist, Gifty Anti who finally tied the knot with Nana Ansah Kwao IV in a royal wedding of a lifetime. Big Brother Africa star and actress, Selorm ‘Selly’ Galley also got married to long-time boyfriend, Praye Tiatia of Praye fame. Actor Majid Michel renewed his wedding vows to wife Verna on their 10^th anniversary.

So here are my highlights of 2015 but of course we cannot forget the legal battles of KKD and Kwaw Kese, which started in 2014. How about the beef between VVIP and former VIP member Promzy? Was his anger towards Reggie Rockstone real or just hype? How about Blakk Rasta’s appearance in in parliament for accusing MPs of smoking marijuana? Rocky Dawuni also had good news in 2015 when his album made the Billboard Reggae Album Chart. He also gained a historic Grammy Awards 2016 nomination with the acclaimed album, ‘Branches of The Same Tree’ under Cumbancha Label.

I wish Rocky Dawuni all the best with the Grammys in 2016 and to the rest of you I wish you prosperous New Year filled with hope, achievement, success and elevation. God bless you for your support and love throughout the past year!!!