The Board of the Telecel Ghana Music Awards has addressed concerns regarding the absence of King Paluta’s ‘Makoma’ from this year’s nominations.
Contrary to speculation that the song was excluded due to profanity, a press release signed by Robert Klah, Head of Communications and Public Events at Charterhouse, clarifies the real reason.
According to the organizers, “Each artiste can have only one song per category, except for Best Collaboration, Best International Collaboration, and Best Music Video.”
They further explained, “This rule prevents vote-splitting and ensures that artists have the best possible chance of winning. In the case of King Paluta’s ‘Aseda’ and ‘Makoma,’ our research—analyzing streaming numbers and airplay from 175 radio stations—showed that ‘Aseda’ was the more popular song. Therefore, it was selected for nomination in both the Highlife and Most Popular Song of the Year categories.”
The statement also acknowledges that while the Board has made exceptions in past editions, its current position is to strictly enforce the one-song-per-category rule.
This is not the first time the awards scheme has implemented this policy. In 2016, Bisa Kdei faced a similar situation when his songs ‘Mansa’ and ‘Brother Brother’ were both strong contenders. He was advised to nominate only one, ultimately choosing ‘Mansa.’ At the time, speculation suggested that ‘Brother Brother’ was disqualified due to a cuss word, but reports indicate that it was simply a matter of the Board’s nomination rule.
In later years, the Board relaxed the restriction, allowing multiple songs by the same artist in a category. However, the latest update confirms that the Telecel Ghana Music Awards has reverted to its previous rule.