With barely two days to the debut edition of the GN Bank Awards, some of Ghana’s finest musicians billed to perform at the event have made public their preparations for the show and have asked their fans to expect the best performances of their lives.
The event is scheduled for the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) this Saturday, March 21 and has sparked a huge excitement and anxiety among stakeholders within Ghana’s entertainment and creative arts sector.
Stars confirmed to perform on the night include Ghana Music Awards Artiste of the Year Shatta Wale, legendary Ghanaian highlife musician Amakye Dede, Best African Rapper and hip-life musician E.L, songstresses Efya and Raquel, gospel musicians Joyce Blessing and Obaapa Christy and the fast rising hip-life sensation, Luther.
And coming all the way from the United Kingdom, superstar disc jockey Tim Westwood is billed to handle the turntable.
Some 150 popular Ghanaian celebrities and public personalities have been nominated and spread across 15 categories. The winner of each category will receive a cash price of GH¢ 3,500, a custom-designed trophy, and one relaxing night at the Coconut Grove Beach Resort in Elmina among others.
A section of the public has expressed misgivings that Charterhouse Productions have fixed a free concert on the same date and would be using musicians including some of those already advertised for the GN Bank Awards night.
Spyder Lee, organisers of the GN Bank Awards, however insist there is absolutely no cause for alarm and that the March 21 event at the Accra International Conference Centre would be a world class show.
Some of the performers and their managers spoke to NEWS-ONE.
AMAKYE DEDE
‘If Ghanaians have known Amakye Dede as a serious performer, they would see the real meaning of serious performance on Saturday. We would make sure anyone present at the event leaves the place in a happy mood, [whether] they win an award or not. Music is what we do for a living and on that night, we would ensure we put up a very good performance,’ Isaac Yeboah, Manager of Amakye Dede, told NEWS-ONE.
Mr Yeboah said Amakye Dede was midway into his rehearsals ahead of the show when the paper called his phone for the interview and that he could therefore not speak to the paper directly.
OBAAPA CHRISTY
Renowned gospel songstress Obaapa Christy, formerly known as Christiana Love, told NEWS-ONE what fans should expect at the show.
‘I want the fans on Saturday to know that they are not only coming for a show but also to receive God’s blessings. It was through music that the walls of Jericho fell down and on Saturday, God will use my music to bless anyone at the Conference Centre.
‘I will put up a mega concert that will make people see the new Obaapa Christy. I want to prove something on that night and I encourage everyone to be present and come with an expectation. I am rehearsing for it because I take the show as a very serious one,’ Obaapa Christy added.
E.L
Rapper and beat maker Elorm Adablah, popularly known as E.L, generated some controversy early this week when, apart from the GN Bank Awards, another event organiser advertised the musician for a show on the same date.
A member of his management team, BBnZ, however conformed to NEWS-ONE that E.L would be performing at the GN Bank Awards on Saturday and gave the assurance that there was no cause for alarm.
JOYCE BLESSING
Gospel singer Joyce Blessing, popularly known as the ‘Unbreakable’, also told NEWS-ONE what her fans should expect from her on the night.
‘I get charged and it is as if I am on fire anytime I have a big show to perform. This is the first edition of the GN Bank Awards and it is partly the responsibility of those of us contracted to perform on the night to make the show a successful one.
‘I can promise you one thing; and that is, I would rock the stage on Saturday. Spyder Lee would get a double conviction that they did not make a mistake in putting me on the bill and the people who have paid to watch the show would also have value for the money they paid,’ Joyce Blessing added.
SHATTA WALE
A statement from Spyder Lee has announced superstar dancehall act Shatta Wale as headline performer for the show. The artiste has uploaded a self-made video on his facebook wall talking about the event and what fans should expect from him.
In the video Shatta is seen, in what looks like a recording, singing to instrumentation, after which he tells his fans to patronise the event.
Shatta Wale is himself a nominee and a known fierce critic of award events he perceives not to be genuine. That he has allowed himself to be nominated for the GN Bank Awards, has called on his fans to vote for him, has agreed to perform on the night and has even called on his fans to patronise the event, suggest that he is lacing his boots for a performance worth writing home about.
By Halifax Ansah-Addo (Twitter: @HalifaAnsahAdd)
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