Burna Boy, BBN’s Ike and Mercy grab headlines for right and wrong reasons. Check out details here!

BURNA BOY: 

Grammy Academy official,  Richardine Bartee has hinted that she may well cast her vote for Burna Boy’s album titled ‘African Giant’ in the forthcoming 2021 musical awards.

Bartee who made the admission on Saturday during an Instagram interview said that the fact that Burna Boy’a song ‘Destiny’ made the list of 46 songs played at the inauguration of President Joe Biden of the United States of America last Wednesday, makes him a contender for a Grammy award this year.

According to Bartee who is eligible to vote in the arduous process, having a song as part of the playlist selected for the US president’s inauguration may put the Nigerian in pole position for the coveted award.

She said; “There’s a very good chance that it might. He’s gained more traction in the US since his last album release. The people who vote on it might really like his album and if there’s enough of them, he may take it home. But we literally will not know until GRAMMY night. Anything is possible.

Bartee also offered an unequivocal answer when asked, as a member of the Grammy Recording Academy if she would vote for the Afro-fusion singer.

“Yes. I am excited about his visibility in the States. I think his collaborations with pop stars like Chris Martin, Sia, and Sam Smith were all smart moves to be on their fans’ radar,” she said.

TIWA SAVAGE: 

Sultry singing sensation, Tiwatope Savage has emerged as the only Nigerian listed in the MTV Africa Music Awards Kampala 2021 Listeners’ Choice category.

We gather that Tiwa Savage made it through as finalist for the highly anticipated musical award after votes for the first round of the Listeners’ Choice category for the MTV Africa Music Awards Kampala 2021 were collated.

Reports say twenty artists from 18 different African countries will now go head-to-head against one another and the eventual winner will be announced at the awards ceremony which will be hosted virtually in partnership with Uganda, the Pearl of Africa, on 20 February 2021.

Tiwa Savage will slug it out with other musicians including; Anna Joyce (Angola), ASAPH (Zimbabwe), Dagi D (Ethiopia), DBN Gogo & DJ Dinho (South Africa), Didi B (Cote D’Ivoire), Drizilik (Sierra Leone), Focalistic (South Africa), Khaligraph Jones (Kenya), Locko (Cameroon), Malome Vector (Lesotho), Meddy (Rwanda), Mohamed Ramadan (Egypt), Ngaaka Blindé (Senegal), Pallaso (Uganda), Rayvanny (Tanzania) and Sarkodie (Ghana) among others.

BANKY W: 

Former Empire Mates Entertainment (EME) head honcho, Banky W has taken a swipe at the Federal Government of Nigeria for making it compulsory for citizens to register for NIN, thus exposing them to the dangers of COVID-19.

The R&B singer turned politician in a series of tweets on his official Twitter account said that despite the recent spike in COVID-19 cases reported in the country people are being exposed to the same virus that has been taking the lives of many all because of NIN registration.

Banky W said; “How they can tell us to do social distancing on one hand and then use this NIN madness to expose all of us to covid?

“This is completely irresponsible for the Federal Government and to us as a country, to insist on this mad scramble for NIN numbers in the middle of Covid’s 2nd wave. People are dying.

“We should be smarter, wiser and than this for goodness sake.

“In the middle of the pandemic, this is how our Nigerian Government has its citizens queuing up to get their NIN numbers.

“Completely reckless, inconsiderate and dangerous. Then tomorrow the NCDC will release covid infection rates and say social distancing. This country sha,” he wrote.

READ ALSO: FROM THE MILLS….Why Onyeka Onwenu refused to marry Fela, Tiwa Savage collapses on set

MCSN VS COSON: 

The raging war between Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) and Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria (MCSN) over who is legally responsible to collect royalties on behalf of musicians in Nigeria rages continues.

Celebrity Gist can confirm that after the Nigeria Copyright Commission (NCC) confirmed MSCN as the sole collector of royalties on behalf of musicians in Nigeria, COSON released a statement warning the general public not to seek any license for the use of any musical works or sound recordings in the repertoire of COSON from the MCSN.

In a statement issued by its General Counsel, Ms. Simi Wash-Pam, COSON said; “The recently announced so-called renewal of approval of MCSN by the NCC led by Mr. John Asein, is of little significance.

“This is so because the manoeuvring still cannot permit MCSN to legally license musical works or sound recordings not owned by it or which have not been placed in its repertoire by lawful proprietary assignments or by means of any reciprocal representation agreements lawfully entered into,” the statement added in part.

BBBNAIJA’S MERCY & IKE: 

Former Big Brother Naija 2019 housemate, Ike Onyema has revealed why his relationship with fellow housemate and eventual winner of the reality TV show, Mercy Eke crashed.

In a series of tweets on his official Twitter account, Ike who started a romantic relationship on the reality show with Mercy which later became stronger after they left the Big Brother house up until sometime in later part of 2020, confirmed rumours making the rounds that he was no longer dating Mercy.

“I am single because I showed more love in 2020 than I ever got back and I’m alright with that,” Ike wrote on Twitter.

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