The mother of Goodnews ‘Gnewzy’ Emuemu, the fast-rising Nigerian singer recently abducted, has pleaded with the kidnappers to free her son.

Gnewzy was abducted along Eklat road in Ughelli, Delta state while heading home from a show.

Eric Many Records, the artiste’s music label, confirmed the abduction, saying Obas9ice, his manager, “narrowly escaped”.

The abductors were said to have contacted Dilly Umenyiora, the record label’s CEO, via mail demanding a $200,000 ransom.

In a now-viral video shared by Obas9ice, Gnewzy’s mum can be seen crying and appealing to his son’s abductors to free him.

The woman lamented that the singer is her only son and should not be hurt.

“I beg. Na the only child wey I get o. I beg o. Make una free this boy for me. I beg. Make dem release my pikin. Oh God make una try release this pikin for me. I beg. Na the only son wey I get. I no get any other one,” she said in Pidgin.

Bright Edafe, the Delta police spokesperson, earlier said that the law enforcement agency is investigating the matter.

The police spokesperson said the command is working to determine if there are any hidden motives behind the abduction.

“We are investigating. You know sometimes you may not know what transpired that led to that. We are looking into it to see if there are any underlying issue that could have led to it for now,” Edafe said.

“It was reported the fast rising singer was abducted.”

Burna Boy, the Afro-fusion singer, has called off his highly anticipated concert in the Netherlands.

The singer was scheduled to perform at the Johan Cruyff Arena Stadium on June 9.

The 55,000-capacity stadium also allows as high as 71,000 people for concerts.

But in a post via his Instagram story on Thursday, Burna Boy said the concert was called off because the organisers “failed to meet their contractual obligations”.

He also apologised to his fans and confirmed that all tickets would be refunded within 30 days.

“We regret to inform you that due to a failure by the event organisers to meet their contracted obligations, Burna Boy’s concert at the stadium on June 9th 2024 has been cancelled,” he wrote.

“All ticket buyers will be refunded from point of purchase within 30 days. Love you and see you soon.”

This is not the first time the Grammy-winning singer will be cancelling a show over unmet obligations.

In September 2023, the music star cancelled a South Africa show over “contractual, financial, production, and technical obligations”.

He also cancelled his ‘Love Damini’ concert in the Netherlands back in June 2023 as well.

Burna Boy is currently on his North American tour named after his latest album, ‘I Told Them’.

After months of an impasse, Universal Music Group and TikTok have reached an agreement that will see UMG’s music return to the App.

In the news revealed in May 2, 2024 it’s reported that the agreement will see TikTok pay more remuneration to UMG’s artists and songwriters, provide them with more marketing tools, and also tackle the growing use of AI.

Readers will recall that UMG had earlier pulled down its catalog from TikTok over disputes on low payment of royalties to its artist, non-regulation of the use of artificial intelligence, and safety issues bothering mental health and bullying.

In response to UMG’s accusations, TikTok claimed that the record label was putting its interest above that of the artists on its books. The social media platform also insisted that it would not be bullied into paying more than it was willing to.

The agreement between UMG and TikTok will come as a relief for artists serviced by UMG’s subsidiaries as they can now resume exploring TikTok’s huge promotional benefits. It will also come as good news for fans who can now interact with their favourite artists signed to UMG.

While UMG and TikTok have resolved their differences, the same cannot be said for TikTok and the United States where the government has directed the Chinese-based company to sell off its US division or face sanctions.