Events, artistes that shaped 2013

By Nonye Nkwocha
As 2013 draws to a close, it is time to take stock of events and artistes that shaped the year. Indeed, it was an eventful year, a year full of surprises as it witnessed many upsets and of course, new revelations. The Entertainer brings you the prime events and musicians who dominated 2013.
KCEE’s moment
KCEE has finally broken the jinx and found his footing. His track, Limpopo could get nominated for the award for Song of the Year. It received millions of downloads online and completed the successful transformation of KC of KC Presh to KCEE.
With the release of his album, Pull Over, the lead track has seized the airwaves and there’s no doubt that this is KCEE’s moment! He has successfully given us back to back two straight hits.
For this effort, most music fans may tip KCEE for The Music Man of The Year Award.
Sean Tizzle, Revelation of The Year
The year will go down as one when hip-hop singer, Sean Tizzle (Seun Morihanfen) established himself as a force to reckon with in the music industry. From nowhere, the act shot into the limelight following the success of his runaway single, Sho Lee. He also performed on the biggest platforms including Julius Agwu’s Crack Ya Ribs. As 2014 rolls in, Sean Tizzle is definitely one of the acts to watch out for.
Rise and rise of new generation stars
2013 remains a remarkable year for new generation singers. Wizkid, Olamide and Davido all gave a good account of themselves in the year under review. Wizkid set night clubs and parties bubbling with his hit track, Back To The Matter, Carol and Jaiye Jaiye, featuring Femi Kuti, while Davido ruled with Skelewu and Phyno made an impact with Ghost Mode, featuring Wizkid. Olamide’s new album, Yahoo Boy No Laptop featuring the hit song, Duro So Ke, also made huge impact and as 2014 beckons, these acts are on top of the watch list.
However, one musician we cannot ignore is Burna Boy whose latest album, LIFE, an Afrofusion has been a resounding success.
Year of Skelewu
It was definitely a good year for hip hop singer, Davido. He started a new thing in music when he dropped his latest track, Skelewu, which came with its own dance steps. The track could have been just one of those tracks of 2013, but the act made so much noise about it and there was talk of his shooting several videos which cost millions. Before one could say Jackie Robinson, Skelewu was everywhere. Davido is definitely going places in the New Year.
Iyanya’s year of endorsements
Until Tuface’s N20 million-endorsement deal with Guinness Nigeria Plc in 2004, endorsements were rarely heard of as far as Nigerian music was concerned. However, all that has changed. And now, Iyanya would not forget this year in a hurry as far as endorsement is concerned. The artiste raked in a whopping N130 million from endorsements in the year under review.
Iyanya hit pay dirt when he closed a deal with Solo Mobile worth N35 million. A while later, he got a N40 million ambassadorship deal with MTN, and before anyone knew what was happening, he had inked another endorsement deal worth N65 million with Zinox Technologies Limited.
As 2014 beckons, Iyanya has no excuse but to take his game to the next level.
Goldie’s shocking exit
It was with shock that Nigerians on February 14 woke up to receive the news of the passing away of Susan Harvey popularly known as Goldie. What made her sudden exit so painful was that the singer died just when her career was beginning to blossom on Valentine’s Day after she returned from the Grammy Awards.
Reports later revealed that Goldie succumbed to hypertension, and as the week rolled by, she became the source of even more controversy as her husband, Andrew Harvey, whom she successfully hid from the media popped out of the blues. The Briton declared that he was the singer’s only legal husband amid reports that she was having an affair with BBA’s Prezzo, even as there was talk of marriage between the two housemates.