Showbiz: Big winners and losers of 2012

By AYO ONIKOYI

2012 has come and gone, never to be seen again. But our deeds that underlined  the year are still very much with us. Few days into the New Year the echoes of the past year could still be heard. At least, history never forgets.

As usual the entertainment stars, both in movie and music, made a big show in the year. While some took their careers to another level of prominence, some seemed to be fading away and others seemed not to have shown up at all. It will remain a hot debate any day, the criteria for selecting stars who shine and those who shine not, but general consensus is that awards and recognitions won during the year is a good way of beginning.

Yes, there are many stars who had a hot year, with top of the range shows and movies and yet fail to turn up for any award during the year. There is even a case that some have won too many awards that awards organisers are tired of giving to them any more because they take the fun and the honour out of the award.

*Celebrities

For instance someone like Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde lost out in most of the awards she was nominated for last year except for the one she won in the United Kingdom , that is, Favourite West African Actress of the Year at Screen National Film and Television Award. Though she bested other notable names like her arch rival, Genevieve Nnaji, Mercy Johnson, Jackie Appiah and others. In the FAB Award, she lost out to Rita Dominic.

In Nollywood Movies Award, she also lost to Mercy Johnson. Even when she was nominated in a supporting role at Africa Movie Academy Award, she could not out-muscled other nominees deemed lesser than her and the award was  won by South African Terry Pheto. Her losing streak continued with other awards like Nigerian Entertainment Awards, NEA, where Funke Akindele won the Best Actress.

If Omotola had a rough year in terms of award, then her arch rival, Genevieve had an insulting one. She lost out in every award she was nominated. Best of Nollywood award, BON, FAB awards, Nollywood Movies Awards, NMA  and the Screen National Film and Television award.

To think this is a lady that has won virtually every award in the book and didn’t even get mentioned on most nominees’ list is but insulting. Then, those who have followed her last  year may argue she had a lean year as she didn’t feature in many movies but for Omotola, she holds the record of appearing in most box office films  last  year.

The best lady of the screen this year must arguably be Rita Dominic. She came head-to-head with the leading ladies of Nollywood, Omotola and Genevieve on more than three occasions and she came top on each occasion. The ‘’Shattered” star did it both on local and international scenes.

Whether anybody likes it or not, she is Best African Actress for 2012, at least, the Africa Movie Academy Awards, has her name pinned to that. She also defeated Omotola and Genevive for Most Stylish Actress at the FAB award and the Kenyans thought big of her enough to bestow on her the KALASHA film and Television award for Best Actress. She is lighting up cinemas right now on “The Streets of Calabar” and who knows what she could come up with again?

Monalisa Chinda had a couple of awards to show for her labour in the year. So is Tonto Dikeh, for all of her media-splitting headlines and Funke Akindele, Ayo Adesanya, Iyabo Ojo and Nse Ipe-Etim. Uche Jombo, Stella Damasus, Kate Henshaw, Nuella Njubigbo and  others just didn’t show up.

In the men categories, the big names like Jim Iyke, Ramsey Nouah, Desmond Elliot, Emeka Ike seemed to be leaving the stage for younger and maybe finer men.  Jim Iyke is more of a businessman these days than a movie star and so is Emeka Ike, who is more involved with running his school than running to locations.

Desmond has now preferred staying behind the scenes to run matters as producer and director, so for him, it is not so much a matter of being absent it looks like a change of scene. But then all these men are no longer winning the trophies in the movie sector. The stage now belongs to the duo of Uti Nwachukwu and Joseph Benjamin. Between them, these guys won over ten awards last year. Uti, won five awards in two months and still showed up for others.

Uti won Glama Award in Houston Texas for Best New Actor, Best of Nollywood for Best Kiss in a film, Nigeria Models Achievement Award for Best Male Model, Sexiest On-Air Personality at Nigeria Broadcaster Merit Award, NBMA, and Most Stylish Personality at Style Bourne.

He is also the Best Entertainment Personality, according to the Nigeria Entertainment Awards, NEA. Joseph Benjamin on the other hand has done it in a big way. At Best of Nollywood award he won the Best Actor (Leading Role), and even beat the likes of Ramsey Nouah for Best Actor at Nollywood Movies Award. He is also the reigning African Actor of the Year, the award he won at African Films Award a.k.a Afri Hollywood award and the Most stylish Actor (male) at the FAB award.

On the music scene, the biggest, noticeable loser is Tuface Idibia who failed to show up. Though Two-Baba, has also won everything in the book but then so is D’Banj and P-Square, but they still came looking good and gave the new boys on the block a good run for their money.

They won big and D’Banj even clinched his most elusive award in the past, the MOBO for Best African Act though some will argue Tu face has won this before but D’Banj and P-Square albums, Oliver Twist and Invasion won through and through.

Now, the biggest music star is none other than the Island kid, running the shows now, Wizkid Ayo Balogun who bagged more awards than anyone in the music industry. Some have teased that Davido would have been the star of the moment but with Wizkid in the background, Omo Baba Olowo, had aless than fulfilled year. He has been to Davido what Leo Messi has been to Cristiano Ronaldo but Davido has consolation in a couple of awards and juicy endorsement deals to scuttle any sorrow Wizkid must be bringing his way.

Wizkid won over eight awards in the year. Three at the Headies, two at the Nigeria Movie Awards, one at Future Award, one at BET Award. Davido also has about 4. Darey Art Alade, Vector, Samklef, Brymo have a couple to their names. Names like Banky W. Lynxx, M.I.,  and others didn’t have a good call. For the female music stars, Tiwa Savage, J’odie, Mo’ Cheddah led the way while names like Asa, Sasha P., Waje, Chidinma, Omawunmi didn’t do so well.

But by and large, those that won awards are not the ones who made the most money. For instance, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde made more high budget movies more than Rita Dominic who cornered most of the awards. So is Desmond Elliot and Kunle Afolayan who stayed behind the scenes, making millions quietly. Wizkid is sure the hottest item on the music scene but it must be Banky W. , with no award to his name, maybe the Edutainment award, who is smiling to the bank.

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