MTV Base names Olamide as hottest Naija artiste 2015
If the question,
“Who is Nigeria’s hottest artist of 2015?” had been posed to anyone on the
street over the past few weeks, the answer would most likely have been
“Olamide”, and with good reason. The panel on the MTV Base TV special
#BaseNaijaHottestArtist however, needed two days of intense debate to be
absolutely sure before adding the flourish on top of Baddo ‘s wonderful year.
2015 has seen
Olamide release several singles that topped the MTV Base Official Naija Top Ten
for many weeks, in addition to his successful promotion of protégé, Lil Kesh,
and the recent surprise release of his fifth studio album, “Eyan Mayweather”
which has been topping charts.
Newly acclaimed MTV
Base hottest artiste, Olamide commented on the announcement, “It’s a great
feeling to know that my work has made so much impact on Nigerians and I’m
humbled by this announcement. Thank you MTV Base.”
MTV BASE NAIJA
HOTTEST ARTISTS OF 2015On the panel that ranked ten of the hottest artists in
Nigeria for the year 2015 were, OAPs Omalicha, Do2dtun and Sade Ladipo. Joining
the trio were showbiz entrepreneur Olisa Adibua, entertainment journalist
Osagie Alonge, DJ Spinall and VJ Ehiz.
Commenting on the
reason behind the selection, Senior Vice President and Managing Director,
Viacom International, Alex Okosi stated, “ Nigerian music has evolved from
where it was ten years ago and with the aid of the panelists we have chosen, we
hope that the Base Naija Hottest Artist 2015’ will spark up the kind of
conversations we need among music fans, thought leaders and critics in order to
improve on the type of music we put out there and produce some of the best
talents globally and not just Africa alone.”
Making a surprise
appearance at number 2 on the list was Wizkid who had a big year in 2015 with
his single “Ojuelegba” getting remixed by superstar grime artist Skepta and
American superstar, Drake. Davido sneaked in at number 3 ahead of Patoranking
after a year that saw him tour extensively and release a hit collaboration with
Meek Mill.
Yesterday’s number 2
and 3, Korede Bello and Yemi Alade dropped to number 5 and 6 on the final list
after being displaced by Patoranking who made the list at number 4 after a year
that saw him scoop several hit features and a bumper distribution deal with VP
Records. Yesterday’s number 9 Harrysong drops off the final list alongside
Cynthia Morgan to be replaced by Lil Kesh and Kiss Daniel. Making up the rest
of the list are Burna Boy and Phyno at number 8 and 10 respectively.
Speaking after the
panel session, Olisa Adibua remarked,
“It was a very
robust discussion and debate because there are probably 15 or 20 Nigerian
artistes who had a decent chance of making it onto the list this year, but
there were only 10 slots. I’m happy that MTV Base has created this platform not
just because it promotes Nigerian music which obviously is a good thing, but
also because it fosters a spirit of healthy competition. I’m sure that a number
of artists who were perhaps a bit unlucky not to make the list this year will
work their socks off next year to make it onto the 2016 list, and that is good
news for all of us whether we are involved in the music business or we just
like good Nigerian music.”
The show ranks the
year’s ten biggest performing artists in Nigeria using a list of six criteria
namely: Style, Impact, Sales/Success, Buzz, Music and Intangibles.
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