The 21st Vodafone Ghana Music Awards was held for the first time within two days at the Fantasy Dome amidst the coronavirus pandemic which has hit the world.
However, organizers of the VGMAโs, Charter House were able to pull up a good show after last yearโs event was disrupted by Stonebowy and Shatta Wale’s gun incident.
Since the inception of the awards scheme there have been surprises and disappointments.
Ghanaweb brings readers a list of artistes who were tipped by the general public to grab an award but however did not win at the just ended 2020 VGMAโs.
Wendy Shay
The self-acclaimed Queen of Ghana Music failed to pick up an award at this yearโs VGMAs despite putting much work into her craft and music. The 2019 Best New Artist of the Year missed out at this yearโs awards after being nominated in only one category.
King Promise
Undoubtedly one of the best vocalists in the country, King Promise was not honoured with an accolade at this yearโs VGMAโs. The musician who is known for wearing big shoes earned 7 nominations but failed to pick any. This is not the first time the singer who hails from Nungua in Accra has failed to win an award at the VGMAโs, in 2018 the musician suffered a similar thing but won the Songwriter of the Year in 2019.
Kelvyn Boy
After breaking camp from Bhim Nation, many thought the โMiaโ hitmaker would have won an award in the absence of Stonebwoy. Having touted himself as the brain of the Afrobeat Song of the Year category, Kelvyn Boy deemed it fit that organizers of the VGMA would have honoured him with the award (he disclosed this in an interview on TV3 days to the awards).
The Afrobeats Bad Man failed to annex any award despite earning three nominations at this yearโs awards. He also missed out on the 2019 Best New Artist of the Year but shared in the glory of Stonebwoyโs Best Collaboration of the Year award for โKpoo k3k3โ track.
Eno Barony
As one of the biggest misers on the night, Enoโs inability to win the Rapper of the Yearโ has become a debate in the industry if indeed a woman doesnโt deserve to be crowned such an award. Despite all her efforts to win an award in the rap category, sheโs has been unsuccessful.
Eno earned two nominations in the Hip-Pop song of the Year and Rapper of the Year category. Although she didnโt earn a nomination last year, the female rap-goddess was overlooked in 2018 despite earning a nomination.
Lord Paper
Known for his controversial โAwuramaโ video released in 2016, the artiste was nominated in the Best New Artiste of the Year and Record of the Year categories. However, the Dzigbordi hitmaker failed to grab an award for his efforts in the year under review, despite the release of his North K album.
Quamina MP
Still wondering if Quamina MP โFeels Goodโ for the 2nd time running after not bagging an award again this year. The artiste released a remix of Ice Princeโs โI Feel Goodโ track to console himself last year after missing out on two awards. Well, this year again the Ground Up signee failed to lift any accolade despite 5 nominations and a good performance at the 2020 VGMAโs.
Sista Afia
Making her debut in the VGMAโs, the โJejeโ singer was nominated for the Hip-life and High-life categories. Although she hasnโt been in the industry for long, Sista Afia boasts of a collaboration with Shatta Wale and a few others. She made a huge statement at this yearโs awards despite not winning though her two songs for 2019 earned nominations (Conner Conner featuring Kelvynboy and Weather featuring Medikal and Quamina MP).
Efya
The multiple Female Vocalist of the Year failed to win the award sheโs come to be known for, for the first time at this yearโs awards. Although none of her own songs were nominated she earned a nomination in the Female Vocalist of the Year and High-Life Song of the Year for her collaboration with Sarkodie in โSaaraโ.
Adina
The pretty singer was unable to stage a back to back ‘Female Vocalist of the Yearโ after winning it the previous year. She was beaten to the award by gospel musician, Celestine Donkor and also missed out on the Highlife Artiste of the Year as well as the Hip-life Song of the Year.
Joe Mettle
The myth that musicians who win the Artiste of the Year tend to have a dwindling career seems to becoming a reality. After bagging a total of 5 awards in 2015, 2016 and 2017 VGMAโs the gospel musician has not been able to grab an accolade again at the award scheme. Mettleโs four nominations at this yearโs awards was an improvement to last yearโs 3 but yet again he won nothing.
Epixode
As a constant critic of the VGMAโs, Epixode contended that it was his time to win an award at this yearโs event in the absence of Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale who denied him the opportunity to win any award. The Dancehall art even earned 4 nominations for the first time and in spite of that he wasnโt adjudged the best in any field.
Akwaboah
The soothing singer earned three nominations including the Songwriter of the Year, which he won last year. The โSandraโ hitmaker lost out on the Record of the Year as well as the Highlife Artiste of the Year at this yearโs event. Akwaboah, was however not disappointing with his performance as he performed to the satisfaction of many at the 21st VGMAโs.
Strongman
Strongly contending for the Rapper of the Year award, Strongman was unable to grab the award. Despite being in the category for the first time, the rapper deemed it for him to win the award after defeating Medikal, the former title holder in a series of battles. This is the first time the rapper has earned a spot in the VGMAโs Rapper of the Year category after breaking free from Sarkodie. His Ups and Down song featuring M.anifest was also nominated for the Hip-Pop Song of the Year.
