Entertainment
Afrobeats gets a place on America Music Awards
The American Music Awards (AMAs) has introduced a category dedicated to recognising Afrobeats.
The new category is called ‘Favourite Afrobeats Artist’.
It is the first award in a major US award show dedicated to recognising African artistes that have transcended the African borders with the now globally recognised genre.
Fans of Afrobeats artistes can vote for their favourite stars who have been nominated. Unfortunately, for the category’s debut, no Ghanaian act was nominated.
The nominees for the 2022 AMA ‘Favourite Afrobeats Artist’ are; Burna Boy, CKay, Fireboy DML, Tems, and Wizkid.
Tems has another nomination in the ‘Collaboration of the Year’ category for her collab on Wait For U with Future and Drake.
Meanwhile, Afrobeats is not the only music genre to have a spot in the AMAs.
The K-Pop genre also landed a category. The category is named ‘Favourite K-Pop Artist’. Fans of K-Pop also now have the chance to vote for their favourite artiste or group.
The K-Pop artists nominated are Blackpink, BTS, Seventeen, Tomorrow X Together and Twice.
BTS is also nominated in the ‘Favourite Pop Duo or Group category.’
This comes weeks after calls for The Recording Academy, organisers of Grammy, to add Afribeats as a category to the awards scheme.
In September, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Recording Academy said there is a possibility the event will in the near future have a category for Afrobeats.
Speaking to the media on his arrival in Ghana, Harvey Mason Jr, noted that The Recording Academy recently had a meeting with leaders of the Afrobeats community including producers, songwriters, executives and others to learn more about the genre – and will continue to do so.
“We just talked about what are the different sub-genres (of Afrobeats), the needs, the desires, and my goal is to represent all genres of music including Afrobeats at the Grammys, but it has to be done properly,” Mr Mason said.
Meanwhile, in March 2022, Billboard created the U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart – a standard record chart ranking the 50 most popular Afrobeats songs in the United States weekly.
Source: www.myjoyonline.com
The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, has launched Heritage Month to project the country’s rich culture and national identity.
The launch took place at Nationalism Park on Monday, March 2, 2026.
This year’s celebration, under the theme, “Experience Ghana, My Heritage, My Pride (Taste 69@69),” also marked the launch of the historic Vodza Regatta.
Speaking at the launch, Madam Abla Dzifa Gomashie emphasized the role of tourism, culture and the creative arts in driving jobs, empowering youth and women, and stimulating domestic tourism.
She commended President John Dramani Mahama for offering to be the culture ambassador extraordinary.
According to her, the tourism and creative sector, as the biggest service provider, needs support because it has what it takes to create a lot of employment for Ghanaians.
The minister also charged schools, corporate Ghana, and everyone to visit local tourist sites across the country and enjoy the local cuisines.
She also commended the Ghana Culture Forum and the National Folklore Board for advancing Ghana’s heritage recognition efforts.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GTA, Maame Efua Houadjeto, noted that Heritage Month is both a cultural celebration and an economic activation strategy, with activities including discounted access to heritage sites.
Mrs. Efua Houadjeto noted that there would be “Taste 69@69” culinary showcase, a nationwide Heritage Caravan, Akwaaba Festival, Asa Baako Festival, Akple Festival, Kenkey Festival, Independence Open Mic Concert, and Ghana Day, among others.
She revealed that there would be the unveiling of a revitalised GTA digital platform and an enhanced Ghana Travel portal.
Present at the launch were the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Yussif Issaka Jajah, Ghana Tourism Development Company boss, Prof. Kobby Mensah, Deputy GTA CEO, Gilbert Abeiku Aggrey, other sector directors, traditional authorities, diplomatic representatives, stakeholders and the media.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
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Ghanaian gospel artist Enuonyam Akuffo Tuffour, known in the showbiz circles as Enuonyam, has released her much-awaited album dubbed ‘Jesus Given’.
The six-track album is made up of songs like Jesus Given, Be Still featuring Luigi Maclean, Kyere Me Kwan featuring Kweku Teye, I Will Not Be Moved, Holy Ghost, and Hallelujah Holy.
Speaking to The Spectator Agoro during an exclusive listening session, Enuonyam said, “‘Jesus Given’ is a summary of what Jesus did on the cross for humanity and the benefit thereof.”
She added that it is an album inspired by John 15:13, which speaks of the greatest gift given to humanity: Jesus Christ, who later died for humanity.
Touching on the production process, she said it was a smooth process working on the album: “Everything worked as planned from collaboration to all those who played key roles in making the process possible.”
In a message to the public, the gospel musician said, “Everyone who is looking to experience Jesus intimately and beautifully should listen to the album.”
She was optimistic that the album would impact many lives and urged music lovers to stream Jesus Given, adding that the album is available on all streaming platforms.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
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