Kenya, May 11 -- The 26th Telecel Ghana Music Awards (TGMA) took place on Saturday, May 10, at the Grand Arena of the Accra International Conference Centre. It was an exciting event celebrating Ghanaian music, filled with great performances, important wins, and a new red-carpet experience.
The theme for this year was "The People, The Culture, The Music", bringing together famous musicians, up-and-coming artists, and fans to enjoy Ghana's lively music scene.
King Promise was the star of the night, winning several awards, including the important Artiste of the Year and Album/EP of the Year for his well-loved album, True to Self.
His win made many fans happy, with one fan on X saying, "That ICONIC win by King Promise that I totally called!" He gave an amazing performance with his hits, like Paris and Favourite Story, making the audience cheer.
The night featured unforgettable performances that were full of energy and creativity. Stonebwoy, who was last year's winner for Artiste of the Year, gave a fantastic show with songs like Jejereje, proving he is one of Africa's best performers.
Fameye sang beautifully, and his emotional performance, backed by string instruments, moved the audience. KiDi's smooth singing and lively dance made him shine like a star.
The group Daughters of Glorious Jesus brought a strong spiritual feeling to the night with their performance in white gowns, which was described as "calm, powerful, and deeply spiritual" by the organisers.
King Paluta had a gritty performance, especially with his song Aseda, making the crowd sing along.
A special tribute to the Osibisa band was performed by Adina, Adomaa, and Titi Owusu, honouring the late founder Teddy Osei and bringing back sweet memories.
In the gospel category, Joe Mettle won Best Gospel Artiste and Best Vocal Performer, affirming his strong presence in the genre. Empress Gifty emotionally won for Traditional Gospel Song with Watch Me, bringing tears of joy.
Olivetheboy made history by winning Best Afrobeat Song for Asylum for the second year in a row. King Paluta also did well, winning awards for Best Highlife Song with Aseda and Songwriter of the Year. Tulenkey and Beeztrap won Best Hiplife Song with Bad Feeling.
After past complaints about the red-carpet setup, Charterhouse made the experience much better this year. The event had two parts for the red carpet: one for media engagement and another main part for celebrities on TV.
This new approach featured fashion interviews that raised the excitement. People on social media praised the outfits, with one user pointing out the "full star power" of the stars. However, some attendees mentioned that crowd control still had problems in the general session.
While many praised the performances and organisation of the event, some people were unhappy with the technical aspects. Some guests also expressed concerns about the awards, claiming that some winners didn't deserve their awards.
Even with these issues, the overall production was seen as polished and ambitious, with a total of 32 awards given out across different music genres.
The TGMA 2025 showed its importance as the top music awards event in Ghana, celebrating both famous and new talent.
From Stonebwoy winning the Reggae/Dancehall Artiste of the Year for the 10th time to Yaw Darling being named Unsung Artiste of the Year, the ceremony highlighted the richness and global reach of Ghanaian music.
Before the main event, activities like a masterclass on May 8 and a pre-party on May 9 helped build community within the industry. The TGMA Xperience jam on April 5 set the stage for the main event.
Although Charterhouse's improvements were mostly successful, everyone in the industry will keep paying attention to ensure future events meet expectations.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Bana Kenya.