I don’t do music for awards —King Promise

THIS year, one song that stands tall is Terminator by King Promise and already some Ghanaians are rooting for him to pick up the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA) Artiste of the Year because of the success of the song.

Terminator and its accompanying dance challenge has gone viral and ‘arresting’ the attention of music enthusiasts who do their own thing on social media globally.

However, King Promise born, Gregory Bortey Newman, says winning awards is not his main focus, instead, doing good music for his fans is his priority.

In an interview with Graphic Showbiz on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, King Promise said he believed in doing good music and when the awards come, that becomes a plus.

“I am grateful for what Terminator has done over the period. The magic Terminator is doing is just mind blowing and I am very grateful to everyone who helped make the song what it is today,” he said.

“Well, I have always said over the years that I stand for good songs and not necessarily awards. Some years back, I had no awards to my name but I still gave Ghanaians good music.

“The music comes from within and that makes it original. I want to be known for doing authentic music so I don’t just jump on any beat and I am glad my fans love what I give them.

“Now, all I think about right now is doing music and staying around for a very long time. I want to be like Bob Marley, R2Bees and some of the other great musicians so I am very particular about the songs I put out there,” he revealed to Graphic Showbiz.”

Asked how difficult it was to get a hit song, the CCTV hitmaker who can boast of a repertoire featuring some chart-topping songs said he could not really tell how the bangers happened.

“If you ask me how the hit songs come about, I cannot give you the answer but I believe in doing me. If you believe in what you have and you know it is good, your fans will love it”, he said.

According to King Promise, he wouldn’t know what he would have been doing by now if he was not into music.

“My passion for music is always crazy so you would always see me in the studio creating something. Music chose me and that explains my crazy passion for it. There is nothing I think in my head right now apart from music and I want to tell my fans that I am now starting,” he revealed.

Other songs King Promise has to his credit include Tokyo, Ginger, 10 Toe, Abena, Put You On and Odo Nti.

Some awards he has bagged are Afrobeats/Afropop Song of the Year and Album of the Year awards at the 2022 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA) and Songwriter of the Year award at VGMA (2019).