A Night of Compelling Events in Ghana.
Gyakie performing at the 3MAs. Source 3Music Networks
The night of 27th March 2021 will go down in history as one of the most captivating night of events in Ghana’s entertainment industry. A night where two award schemes were held at the same time yet satisfied its individual audience.
In an industry where if Artistes releasing multiple projects on the same day is seen as the bigger act sabotaging the upcoming one. An industry where staging an event on a date which is similar to another event is seen as the existing force overshadowing the new kid on the block. This is the Ghanaian entertainment industry that surpassed itself on the night of 27th March 2021.
KiDi x Mr. Drew x Kofi Jamar performing at the 3MAs. Source 3Music Networks
Camidoh performs at the EAA. Source Citi TV
3Music Awards (3MAs) is an annual musical award scheme which happens between late March and early April. The event has been consistent for the past four years even in times of Covid. The franchise owned by 3Music Networks having Sadiq Abdulai Abu as CEO of the franchise, has been lauded for its innovations in terms of creativity and stage design. The award scheme came of last night and we are not here to talk about the awardees.
OB Amponsah, Lexy The Comic and Akrobeto on the Drip Carpet. Source 3Music Networks
The Entertainment Achievement Awards (EAA) is an event owned and driven by Citi TV. The scheme which was launched on December 17th 2020, seeks to recognize and celebrate entertainment industry players who fall under the discipline ie sports, music, film, fashion, photography, media, comedy and others. Nominations were announced February 16th and the main event came off last night 27th March with performances from Okyeame Kwame, Irene Logan, Tulenkey, Abiana, Kofi Jamar, Camidoh, Lyrical Joe among others.
Abiana performing at the EAA. Source: Citi TV
The event caught the eye of the public because of its execution reading feedback on social media. The hosts for the night were AJ Sarpong and Kwaku David both of Citi FM and Citi TV respectively. While the Kwaku David was static in the studios of Citi TV, AJ Sarpong was seen at various iconic sites in Accra (National Theatre, Black Star Square and Jubilee House), announcing winners and performers. That wasn’t all, the performers of the night also performed at four (4) different venues ie Velvet Green Garden East Legon, +233 Jazz Grillz and Bar North Ridge, Cee Jay Multimedia Lapaz and The Victoria by Prop Haven Spintex Road.
Kofi Jamar performing at the EAA. Source: Citi TV
The execution of the event being fully virtual was well orchestrated and coordinated for a maiden edition. One can tell that, a lot of planning went into the organisation which gave us this beautiful outcome we witnessed on our screens last night. My high points were the performances. Hardly did I get something wrong to say about any of the artiste’s performance. The choice of artistes was also very interesting as many were upcoming acts, some were alternative musicians and yes, the open act is a spoken word artiste, Poetra Asantewa.
Poetra Asantewa performing at the EAA. Source: Citi TV
On the other side of town, at the AICC, Grand Arena to be precise, had the 3MAs going on. Compared to the EAA, the 3MAs had been in existence for four (4) years so it had the buzz and the hype. The 3MAs had both pre-recorded and live performances which were all orchestrated in perfection. What struck people the most was the stage design and the direction for the performances of the artistes.
Medikal x Joey B x Criss Waddle performing at the 3MAs. Source 3Music Networks
One similarity with the two events was the involvement of politicians from both political divide announcing winners of various categories. The 3Music Awards which wasn’t fully virtual, was able to invite politicians on stage to present awards. The EAA on the other hand was hundred percent virtual so award presenters and recipients had to record videos of themselves presenting and receiving awards.
Legon Palm Wine performing at the EAA. Source: Citi TV
What I realized from these two events is the hard work organizers put in to satisfy the viewing audience. We weren’t taken for granted and I as an observer had a lot of fun and admiration for these Ghanaian brands who have risen the bar in terms of event organization. For the first time in many years of Ghanaian award scheme, majority of the audience were satisfied with award winners. The fallouts of both event? Well, maybe in my next writeup.
Source:atogarbrah.ga