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Grammys CEO reveals how to win awards

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Grammys CEO reveals how to win awards

Harvey Manson Jr., the CEO of the Recording Academy, organisers of the Grammy Awards, has revealed how winners of the prestigious prizes are selected.

Manson’s revelation came on the back of the controversy that trailed the 2024 edition of the award ceremony held at the Peacock Theater on Sunday evening.

Six Nigerian artistes lost their categories at the prestigious award ceremony; including Burna Boy (4) and Davido (3).

Tyla, the South African singer, also floored her Nigerian counterparts like Asake, Olamide, and Ayra Starr to win the ‘Best African Music Performance’, the newly introduced category.

Tems also lost the ‘Best Song Written for Visual Media’ category. She had been nominated for her contribution to the movie ‘The Black Panther (Wakanda Forever)’ with the song ‘Lift Me Up’ alongside Rihanna and Ludwig Goransson. But the award went to Billie Eilish and Finneas for their song ‘What Was I Made For’.

The development provoked a plethora of insinuations, misinformation, and disinformation regarding how award winners are selected by the Grammys.

But speaking on the matter in a now-viral video, Manson shared some key points on how to win the Grammys.

He said anyone who wants to win a Grammy must be “voted for by a member of the recording academy” who are music professionals in the United States.

Manson said Grammy Awards are won purely based on the viewpoints of the board members of the Recording Academy, which could sometimes be “subjective”.

The Recording Academy CEO clarified that winners are not voted for by “neither committees, labels, or journalists”.

He also disclosed that they do not take into account a singer’s huge sales, streams, and fan base but pick winners purely based on the “quality of their art”.

“You have to understand that the only way to win is to have the member of the academy vote for you. To be a member of the academy you have to be a professional, working in music in the United States for now. Hopefully, we grow that,” he said.

“But right now, if you are working professionally in the United States you can become a member of the recording academy. Once you are a member of the recording academy, all the music is submitted, the members listen to it and they evaluate it on the quality of the art. Not the sales, not the streams, not how many fans, but purely on the opinion. It is very hard, as you all know because it is subjective.

“It is no best song or best record, it is just the opinion of that membership of that particular year. That is how you win a Grammy. The voters vote. There is no committee, no journalist, and there are no labels. It is the music professionals voting for their peers.”

Jay Z, the US rapper, earlier slammed the Grammy Awards for “never giving” Beyonce, his wife, ‘Album of the Year’ category — despite her impressive record of 32 wins.

Entertainment

Oxlade reveals the reason he once ran away from home

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Nigerian singer Oxlade has opened up about his decision to drop out of university and run away from home due to threats from cultists in school.

During an interview with Punch Newspapers on September 18, 2024, the singer discussed his motivation to drop out of school to save his life.

“I dropped out of the university in my final year because it was a crazy time. There were some gangs after me because I’m a fine boy. Being a fine boy makes you a target. It is either you join them or they off you. So I had to leave that environment,” he added.

Oxlade, who attended Lagos State University (LASU), noted that while the institution has since improved its focus on academics, the atmosphere during his time there was tumultuous. “At that time, it was a hot period. Now everyone is chasing money,” he stated, acknowledging the university’s efforts to curb such dangerous behaviours today.

“After I left school, I ran away from home because I couldn’t tell my family why I dropped out,” he revealed.

The first time he opened up about his experience with the cultists was during an interview on the Tea with Tay Podcast in October 2023.

He explained, “During my university days, I was always in the church reading Bible and books. Then I dropped out in my final year. I’ve never said this before. I dropped out when some boys were trying to make me join a gang.”

Oxlade shared a touching moment when his grandmother unknowingly saved his life by asking him to come home.

“I don’t know how my grandma knew, she just told me to come to Ibadan, that I shouldn’t go and pack anything from the hostel, so I was there for a week. So the next few days my roommates said that they came to beat the shit out of them because of me,” he explained.

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Cab driver threatens to sue Adunni Ade for defamation

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An Indrive cab driver has threatened legal action against Nigerian actress Adunni Ade over a dispute stemming from his refusal to deliver her package.

It all began on September 18, 2024, when the actress called the driver named Frances Njoku and the hailing platform out on Instagram, alleging that he took off with her package and was not picking up calls. Her post garnered significant attention on social media, and her followers joined her to call Indrive out.

Later that night, Adunni Ade announced that the Njoku delivered her package after his profile was locked by the platform.

However, it did not end there. On September 19, Adunni Ade took to Instagram with screenshots showing all her interactions with Njoku and her fashion designer, who sent the package out.

Some of the screenshots showed a disgruntled Njoku slamming the actress for smearing his name and threatening legal action against her.

He wrote, “You have made nonsense of my image and I have contacted my legal team and we’ll see you in court. You are not the person who requested the ride. Many human rights activists and lawyers have called me and think I won’t let it go that way. You must render an unreserved apology and ask Instablog to pull the post down.”

In her post, Ade explained the context of all the screenshots she uploaded and emphasised that the driver was at fault.

She wrote in part, “One thing about me is I do not lie nor cheat my fellow being. When we speak of change, let that change start with you! With the current economic state, everyone is doing what they can to stay afloat irrespective of your finances.”

She concluded, “In my whole adult life of ordering and delivering or using services of logistic companies, I have never encountered anyone as rude, uncivilized, ill-mannered, arrogant, entitled as Frances Njoku.”

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Charly Boy opens up on rift, reconciliation with father

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Charly Boy, the ace Nigerian singer, has detailed his tale of rebellion and reconciliation with Chukwudifu Oputa, his late father.

Oputa, a former supreme court of Nigeria judge, died on May 11, 2014.

In a recent interview on WithChude, Charly Boy revealed that his decision to pursue music led to a fallout with his father.

The 73-year-old activist, born Charles Oputa, said after returning from the United States, he relocated to his village in Oguta, Imo state, where he lived for seven years due to financial struggles.

He said he “disowned my parents” who relocated to Lagos, adding that “the village robbed me of self-esteem”.

“I had disowned my parents. We were living in Owerri and my parents moved to Lagos. I moved back to the village because I had just returned from America. So I stayed in the village for seven years. I had no money. I had nothing. But that village robbed me of self-esteem. It robbed me of many things,” he said.

The singer, also called Area Fada, recalled how his rebellious nature often led to a clash with his father.

Charly Boy said he was frequently punished and whipped as a child, but eventually found a way to bond with Oputa.

“That is how I felt right from the day I was born. I want to go the other way. My thing with the status quo started from the house,” he said.

“Why should my father be telling us and giving us all these commands like time to eat, time to pray and all of that? I was just so tired of all that. It did not make sense to me.

“I was the one that was whipped most among my siblings. And I was the one that was punished the most because I would not do what I was asked to do.

“But then, my father forgot that he planted these things. He would say ‘query and investigate everything’. I used to have a vocal battle with him. I just did not understand. He just thought I was a kid from hell who needed to be punished and trashed seriously. I do not think we liked each other that much till everybody started getting mature and started to see the beauty of our personalities. Sometimes he would tease me and call me a pocket lawyer.

“At first, we could not agree on anything. And I found out that this was not enabling me to bond with my father. Till the day I decided I was going to flip it.”

On how they reconciled, the activist said during a tense conversation, he chose not to react to his father’s screaming.

Charly Boy, a former president of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN), said he instead listened to his father as he spoke.

The singer said he then calmly asked his dad to listen to his perspective, marking a turning point in their strained relationship.

“One day, I came to him as usual to talk about something close to my mind. He started screaming and shouting and I did not shout back. I did not say anything,” he said.

“I listened to him very attentively. He was surprised he was not getting any reaction. After he said everything, I said ‘Daddy, I have listened to you, can you listen to me now?’

“He looked at me critically and that was the last day he shouted at me. That was the day everything changed. Because I found a new way of dealing with this man.

“After they retired I brought them to Abuja to live with me for almost 15 years. They died in my house. The greatest job I had was to take care of them.”

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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