Group of the Year no longer a competitive category –PRO of Charterhouse

THE Public Relations Officer for Charterhouse, Robert Klah, has disclosed that Best Group of the Year has been missing on the Telecel Ghana Music Awards (TGMA) nomination list in the last few years because it is no longer a competitive category.

The last time the Best Group of the Year award was presented was in 2021 when gospel group Bethel Revival Choir beat the likes of R2Bees, La Meme Gang and DopeNation to grab the title.

Surprisingly, in the previous year, Bethel Revival Choir had broken the jinx of a gospel group winning the Group of the Year for the first time when they walked home with the award in 2020.

And since 2021, even though groups such as La Meme Gang, R2Bees and DopeNation continue to release songs and perform at events, they have probably failed to catch the eye of the Board of TGMA to give Group of the Year category a spot for nominations.

However, in an interview with Graphic Showbiz recently, Robert Klah cancelled unfounded claims that it was a deliberate decision to sideline the various groups at the annual music ceremony.

“Yes, we didn’t add Group of the Year to the nominations list because the Board has realised that it's no longer as competitive as it used to be, so it was decided to let it rest until they become competitive again.

“If an artiste or group is not on the list, it simply means they did not meet the criteria if they filed for nomination in the year under review,” he stated.

Robert Klah encouraged the various groups not to limit themselves by filing for only the Group of the Year since they are equally eligible for other competitive categories depending on their performance in the year under review.

“The groups are still eligible to participate in the awards scheme so they can be nominated in any of the song or artistry categories.

“FRA is a group but they have been nominated in the Best Highlife Artiste of the Year category. If we have enough competitive groups in the future, the category will be brought back into the scheme,” he said.

Already, things are heating for this year’s TGMA, which is slated for the Grand Arena of the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) on Saturday, June 1.

Tomorrow, May 11, the Central Region will experience a music extravaganza when Stonebwoy, Kofi Kinaata, Nacee, King Paluta, Amerado and Adina, among others, perform at the headline TGMA Xperience Concert in Cape Coast.

Black Sherif, King Promise, Kuami Eugene, Nacee, Sarkodie and Stonebwoy are gunning for the Artiste of the Year award this year.