Looking back at one’s progress in life is always essential for growth and also improves all aspects of a person’s life. A lot of jaw-dropping issues happened from the beginning of the year and this piece will focus on some of the stories that made headlines in Ghana’s entertainment industry in the year under review – 2018.

Top on the list, of course, was the sudden death of controversial Dancehall musician Priscilla Opoku Kwarteng, popularly known as Ebony Reigns. The “Sponsor” hitmaker met her untimely death on February 8, 2018 in a gruesome road accident while returning from a trip to Sunyani where she had gone to visit her mother.

Although the young songstress was widely criticized for her provocative way of dressing and choice of song lyrics, Ebony’s death hit hard at most Ghanaians with many blaming it on the poor state of roads in the country.

Fast forward April 2018, Ebony Reigns made history as the first Female musician to win the coveted Artiste of the Year Award at the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards, beating off stiff competition from Shatta Wale, Stonebwoy, Sarkodie and 2017 Artiste of the Year winner, Joe Mettle to win the enviable award. The “Poison” hitmaker also won 3 other awards for the hit songs she churned out under the year of review.

In May 2018, Actor John Dumelo’s marriage to Gifty Mawunya Nkornu at a private ceremony in Accra became the talk of town after rumours emerged that the on screen ‘bad boy’ was involved with another lady who got broken hearted due to the wedding.

Meanwhile, Broadcast Journalist Kofi Okyere Darko leading to John Dumelo’s wedding found himself in hot waters after a comment he made with regards to Ghanaian female celebrities and marriage.

He wrote on social media “Got me wondering why most men in the public eye settle for quiet/unknown women and not the ones all over. That could be a lesson for some of our sisters ooo.” This statement, as expected, did not go down well with some female celebrities including Yvonne Okoro, Lydia Forson, Sandra Ankobea, Juliet Ibrahim and others.

Eleven-year-old winner of TV3’s ‘Talented Kids’ 2017 Erica Tandoh widely known as DJ Switch also made headlines under the year of review after she was selected among the performers of the 2018 Goalkeepers program. The young entertainer made Ghana proud when she got the opportunity with other renowned personalities including French President Emmanuel Macron, Melinda Gates, Ed Sheeran, Fatoumata Diawara, Nancy Kacungira and a host of other speakers from around the world to share their stories of challenges, innovation, and leadership.

One of the most talked about happenings in 2018 was rapper Sarkodie’s “Advice” to Dancehall Star Shatta Wale. The “Dancehall King” hit maker had incurred the wrath of Sarkodie after he name-called the rapper in an interview, referring to him as a poor musician. The “Can’t Let You Go” rapper in a three-minute verse laid on the instrumental of Joey B’s hit song Stables, advices Shatta Wale to be mindful of his utterances and succumb humility for the growth of his career. Social medial was awash for days with music lovers exchanging banters and giving their opinion on the song.

This review will not be complete without an appearance by controversial musician Shatta Wale who referred to Ghana as a village at his ‘Reign’ album tour in the U.K.

While performing his numerous hit songs, the artiste paused and told his fans to disregard any negative news about him on the internet which emanates from Ghana because the country is a village. This statement angered several Ghanaians with many asking Shatta Wale not to return to the country he calls a village. Others also agreed with the “Gringo” star, agreeing that Ghana entertainment thrives on negativity.

Although other stories made significant headlines in 2018, the aforementioned are some of the major ones that got the entertainment industry on everybody’s lip.