The 24th edition of the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA) has seen some great performances and hosting tonight from some of Ghana’s top celebrities, however, there were a few performances that failed to impress social media.
Meet your #VGMA24 hosts Berla Mundi, Naa Ashorkor Mensah-Doku and James Gardiner.
📸 Livestream Screengrabs pic.twitter.com/S0KPSqhqCH
— Israel Laryea (@TheIsraelLaryea) May 6, 2023
Gyakie, Lasmid, and James Gardiner were among the artists and hosts who received mixed reactions from fans on social media.
[irp posts=”293033″ ]
Gyakie, who has been making waves with her hit songs “Scar,” “Something”, and “Need Me” performed on the night but failed to impress some fans with her live vocals.
A number of social media netizens criticized her stagecraft, poor command of her vocals, inability to work with the band and lack of breath control.
At a point feeling frustrated about the energy in the auditorium, she stopped mid-performance and declared “I am not feeling the energy” before walking off stage, leaving fans visibly disappointed.
Gyakie Scar dier not live band oo pic.twitter.com/c0t6sidzEA
— Mempeasem President (@AsieduMends) May 7, 2023
Gyakie doesn't look happy 😊 pic.twitter.com/aAAV6h3Rp6
— Ama Judith (@Ama_Serwaaa) May 7, 2023
Gyakie needs her own sound engineer. Someone who understands her voice well enough to drop her lows during the performances of some of her songs.
— Ölele | DTS👨🏾🍳🇬🇭 (@OleleSalvador) May 7, 2023
No. No. No. Not the live band for Gyakie’s Scar. The mix is not working. It’s just noise. Even in the auditorium 😨
— Ölele | DTS👨🏾🍳🇬🇭 (@OleleSalvador) May 7, 2023
Similarly, Lasmid, who won the Best Hip Life Song Of The Year for Friday Night also received mixed reactions for his performance, with some fans questioning his vocal ability and others laying the blame on the production team.
Rate Lasmid performance at the #24thVGMA out of 10 ?? 🤔 #VGMA24 #VGMAonTV3
— Rowland🤍 (@Ghana_Ronaldo) May 6, 2023
Lasmid too come open kantamanto for stage aboa😂😂
— Waakye Ne Bibiaa 3cedis🇬🇭 (@KwekuMarch) May 6, 2023
So Lasmid came on stage to receive all his WhatsApp messages just to leave? pic.twitter.com/xENgXMdClt
— Ghana Yesu (@GhanaYesu_) May 6, 2023
Lasmid behave yourself over there pic.twitter.com/0CcXtjnLUy
— Mempeasem President (@AsieduMends) May 6, 2023
This is Lasmid, performing the same song live (Friday night)
VGMA really disgrace the boy herh pic.twitter.com/JfD3KtTMjm
— Master Huo (@KaakyireGh_) May 6, 2023
Perhaps the worse of them all was Actor and TV personality James Gardiner, who has been described as a square peg in a round hole for his cringeworthy performance as a co-host to Berla Mundi and Naa Ashorkor.
From his overuse of the word “amazing” to interviewing Osebo The Zaraman on stage, fans could not help but notice his lack of depth and ignorance as an event’s host.
A user wrote, “No James Gardiner you’re not saying ‘amazing’ on purpose ????”
“Naa Ashorkor and James Gardiner… so why did you guys waste all that time on the red carpet? That wasn’t enough so you had to bring the pple on stage to ask them about their clothes? #VGMA24 #VGMA23,”another user wrote in reference to the gaffe
https://twitter.com/darkowaa_y/status/1654993807589474305?s=20
Social media was abuzz with reactions to these performances, with some fans defending the artists and others criticizing them. While some argued that live performances are often not perfect and that artists should be commended for taking the stage, others felt that the performances fell short of expectations and needed to be scripted with hosts also aided by teleprompters.
Overall, the 24th VGMA has had some incredible performances from many talented artists. However, it’s still evident that Charterhouse, organizers of the show continue to rest on their oars and offer Ghanaians a mediocre production every year.
Despite all of the above, it is clear that Ghana’s music industry continues to thrive, and fans are eager to see what the future holds for the country’s talented musicians.
Blacko keep it up, wanna see u in grammy awards nxt year