The Nation Newspaper

Category: Entertainment

  • DAM 2.0 showcases talents in dance, art, music

    DAM 2.0 showcases talents in dance, art, music

    In a bid to provide young people with an opportunity to express themselves through performing and visual arts, including dance, music, and drawing, The Dance, Art and Music (DAM) Initiative has successfully hosted the second edition of its flagship talent discovery event, DAM Project 2.0

    The project, which is a Lagos-based street talent discovery platform, recently held its second edition at Gisajec College, Afromedia, Ojo, Lagos.

    The initiative continues to serve as a creative platform aimed at fostering creativity, building confidence, and supporting skill development among emerging talents across communities in Lagos.

    This year’s edition featured over sixty participants who competed across the Dance, Music, and Art categories. After hours of impressive performances and creative displays, winners emerged in each category.

    In the Dance Category, Osuocha Dalinton emerged the winner, followed by Unlimited Praise as first runner-up and Anunobi Miracle as second runner-up.

    The Music Category saw Triumph claim the top prize, with Unlimited Praise and Benny Guesh finishing as first and second runner-ups respectively.

    Read Also: Teenage sensation Muyeez releases new single “17” under NSNV

    In the Art Category, Gold Orema emerged winner, while Favor Chilasa and Ubuike John secured the first and second runner-up positions.

    Winners received cash prizes of N20,000 for first place, N10,000 for first runner-up, and N5,000 for second runner-up. First-place winners were also presented with prize boards, while certificates of participation were issued to all participants.

    DAM Project 2.0 upheld a high level of credibility through the involvement of respected industry professionals who served as judges.

    Barrister Ademoye Dorothy Ugonwa, lawyer and chairperson of the Guild of Nigerian Dancers, judged the Dance category while the Art category was overseen by Mr. Dotun Oluwa, Acting Head of Department, Fine Art and Applied Education at the Lagos State University of Education, and the Music category was judged by Mr. Nwachukwu Jeremiah Ugonna, a Music Director, Producer, and Coach.

  • Nexus Publishing partners Premier Music Publishing on bootcamp

    Nexus Publishing partners Premier Music Publishing on bootcamp

    Nexus Publishing has just concluded a creative bootcamp in partnership with Premier Music Publishing Company Limited.

    It was held between January 31, 2026 and February 1, 2026.

    The two-day bootcamp was designed to explore the rich catalog of Premier Records Limited while actively engaging producers and instrumentalists in hands-on learning, collaboration, and industry exposure.

    Read Also: Why I was banned alongside co-actors in 2005 – Actress Omotola

    The initiative aims to bridge the gap between emerging talent and established music publishing structures.

    Participants gained insights into music publishing, production techniques, catalog development, and creative ownership, while also interacting directly with industry professionals.

    The bootcamp is also poised to serve as a platform for talent discovery, mentorship, and creative exchange.

    According to representatives from Nexus Publishing, the partnership reflects a shared commitment to nurturing the next generation of music creators and strengthening the music ecosystem through education and access.

  • Excitement as Joy Tambou becomes Chief Protocol to AGN President

    Excitement as Joy Tambou becomes Chief Protocol to AGN President

    Curvy and hardworking Nollywood actress and producer, Joy Tambou has been appointed Chief Protocol to the newly elected president, Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) Alhaji Abubarkar Yakub Sanusi.

    Tambou with other members of the AGN president’s kitchen cabinet were inaugurated on January 29, 2026 by outgoing president, Chief Ejezie Emeka Rollas (OON) in Abuja.

    While appreciating President Sanusi as well as the guild’s secretary, Ambassador Ifeoma Okeke including the entire exco and team, excited Tambou promised to be fully committed to working hand-in-hand with the elected leadership to ensure order, excellence, respect, and seamless representation of the guild.

    READ ALSO: President rallies relief materials to affected Kwara communities

    She said: “In alignment with the vision of our president, my core intention is to promote unity within the Actor’s Guild of Nigeria, strengthen collaboration among actors nationwide and support initiatives that elevate the welfare professionalism and global relevance of Nigerian actors. I am committed to working with all stakeholders to ensure that every actor feels seen, valued and empowered to thrive within the guild. This administration represents vision over division, service over status and impact over noise.”

    Tambou has produced many films as well as featured in many others such as ‘Tattered,’ ‘The Other Side,’ ‘Tangled Heart,’ ‘Caught on the Net,’ ‘Bliss of Kamara,’ ‘Unexpected Love,’ ‘Palmwine Tapper,’ ‘Seven Daughters,’ ‘Expensive Bachelor,’ ‘Drink my Tears,’ ‘When a Child Cry,’ ‘3 Days Burial’ among others.

  • Music, nightlife: Inside Nigeria’s entertainment-driven revival

    Music, nightlife: Inside Nigeria’s entertainment-driven revival

    When Tolaram Group formally took over Guinness Nigeria Plc from Diageo in 2024, expectations were high, but the operating environment was hostile. Inflation was elevated, foreign exchange volatility persisted, and consumer purchasing power remained under pressure. Rather than retreat into conservative brand spending, the new owners pursued a deliberate strategy – use entertainment and culture to reignite demand, protect brand equity, and accelerate profitable growth.

    Since the transition, Guinness Nigeria has leaned heavily into entertainment-led brand-building across its portfolio, treating music, nightlife, and lifestyle platforms as engines for scale rather than discretionary costs. The result has been a marked improvement in topline momentum and profitability, positioning the company among the strongest performers in Nigeria’s beverage sector.

    At the core of its earnings remains Guinness Foreign Extra Stout (FES), a brand that continues to command premium margins. Under Tolaram, FES has been aggressively re-anchored within urban nightlife and contemporary music culture. Carefully curated bar activations, DJ-led experiences, and cultural collaborations have reinforced FES as a symbol of boldness and originality. These engagements have helped stabilise volumes in high-margin on-trade channels while supporting price integrity despite broader consumer pressure.

    READ ALSO: President rallies relief materials to affected Kwara communities

    The spirit’s portfolio has also benefited from entertainment-driven momentum. Smirnoff, targeting youthful, expressive consumers, has deepened its association with club culture, DJs, and social nightlife experiences. These activations have expanded consumption opportunities and improved brand visibility in urban centres, translating into faster inventory turnover and stronger distributor confidence.

    Gordon’s, by contrast, has adopted a more refined entertainment footprint. Lifestyle events centred on sophistication, social connection, and premium leisure have reinforced its positioning, enabling the brand to sustain premium pricing and steady demand growth in an increasingly crowded gin segment.

    Beyond alcohol, Malta Guinness has emerged as a strategic stabiliser. Since 2024, the brand’s entertainment-led storytelling – focused on vitality, movement, ambition, and everyday wins has expanded its cultural relevance without diluting its functional equity. Music-driven campaigns and community activations have helped Malta Guinness grow volumes, particularly among younger and family-oriented consumers, supporting revenue diversification during regulatory and consumption shifts.

    Meanwhile, Orijin has continued to thrive through entertainment rooted in Afrocentric identity. By aligning with indigenous sounds, street culture, and expressive storytelling, the brand has preserved its distinctiveness in the ready-to-drink segment, delivering incremental growth without excessive promotional discounting.

    Financially, the impact has been clear. Since the Tolaram takeover, Guinness Nigeria has reported strong revenue growth, margin expansion, and a decisive return to profitability, supported by improved product mix and disciplined cost management. Analysts point to entertainment-led demand generation as a key factor enabling the company to defend margins while scaling volumes.

    Under Tolaram’s ownership, Guinness Nigeria has demonstrated that in Nigeria’s consumer market, culture is not a soft asset. When executed with discipline, entertainment becomes capital capable of driving scale, sustaining margins, and delivering shareholder value.

  • Behind The Scenes’ over N2.5b box office performance excites FilmOne

    Behind The Scenes’ over N2.5b box office performance excites FilmOne

    FilmOne Entertainment has highlighted the exceptional box office performance of Funke Akindele’s ‘Behind The Scenes,’ following its record-breaking performance across Nigeria and select international markets.

    To date, ‘Behind The Scenes’ has generated over N2, 505, 882, 930 at the box office, firmly establishing it as the highest-grossing Nigerian film of all time in West Africa.

    This achievement surpasses Akindele’s previous record, ‘Everybody Loves Jenifa,’ which closed its theatrical run in 2024 with N1,882,549,548, and materially expands the commercial ceiling for Nollywood theatrical releases.

    Beyond its domestic dominance, the film has also delivered impressive international performances in the UK, US and Canada, earning around $440,000 in box office. This makes the film the highest-grossing international Nollywood release of all time.

    READ ALSO: President rallies relief materials to affected Kwara communities

    Commenting on the achievement, Group CEO, Filmhouse Group (FilmOne Entertainment, Filmhouse Cinemas, FilmOne Studios), Kene Okwuosa, said: “The performance of Behind The Scenes represents a defining moment for FilmOne Entertainment and for Nollywood’s theatrical business.

    “These results reflect what is possible when ambitious storytelling is matched with disciplined, globally aligned distribution. We are proud to be scaling African stories in ways that compete credibly on the world stage.”

    Importantly, ‘Behind The Scenes,’ Okwuosa said, marks the first time FilmOne Entertainment has handled the film’s distribution across both Nigeria and all major international markets.

    He stated that in contrast, last year’s releases operated under a domestic-only mandate, with global territories managed separately.

    “This unified approach enabled tighter coordination, stronger market visibility, and more consistent commercial execution across regions,” he said, in a statement, which was made available to The Nation.

    As the film’s official global distributor, Okwuosa said FilmOne Entertainment led a coordinated rollout, aligning release timing, cinema partnerships, and diaspora engagement across Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Canada, and North America.

    According to him, “This integrated execution supported sustained international momentum and positioned the film firmly within cultural conversations beyond Nigeria’s borders.”

  • I claimed to be 22 for three years, says Yemi Alade

    I claimed to be 22 for three years, says Yemi Alade

    Super songstress, Yemi Alade has revealed how she claimed to be 22 years old for three years straight because she was consumed with being by herself and only her team and wasn’t bothered about the outside world.

    She revealed that upon sauntering into the music world, she soon found out that her colleagues don’t seem to be friendly and she decided to be by herself and focus on her music.

    READ ALSO: President rallies relief materials to affected Kwara communities

    She admitted that she was so consumed in her music and work that she didn’t realise time was fast going and she was quick to tell everyone she was 22 when she was actually 25.

    Alade also stressed that she doesn’t attend events or parties where she’s not invited to because she doesn’t even have so many friends.

    The songstress also opened up about a brief period of cigarette addiction she experienced during her university days. She shared that she decided to quit after realizing the habit was negatively impacting her health and vocal performance.

  • Our goal is to see a proactive AGN in governance, says Don Pedro Aganbi

    Our goal is to see a proactive AGN in governance, says Don Pedro Aganbi

    Recently elected as the National Director, Policy and Implementation (DPI) – a pioneering position in the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) – Don Pedro Aganbi has described the Guild as being in a phase of rapid evolution, driven by the need for strong policy frameworks and effective implementation.

    Speaking in an interview with The Nation, Aganbi, who is also a technology curator, said his dual background in Nollywood and technology places him in a vantage position to contribute to the Guild’s growth.

    “Nollywood today operates in a fast-moving ecosystem shaped by technology, data, global platforms and distribution systems. My experience allows me to look beyond immediate challenges and focus on building systems that prepare the Guild for tomorrow,” he said.

    According to him, the industry has outgrown the traditional focus on film production alone and must now embrace innovation, data management, digital platforms, global partnerships and economic sustainability.

    READ ALSO: President rallies relief materials to affected Kwara communities

    Aganbi explained that his overarching goal is to see an AGN that is proactive in governance, where policies anticipate industry changes, technology enhances efficiency and members feel the impact in real time.

    “There must be clear national coordination of ideas across all states,” he said. “The national body should provide policy direction, while states adapt and implement within agreed standards that reflect their local realities.”

    He added that all major initiatives — including welfare programmes, partnerships, projects and events — should align with the implementation dashboard to ensure accountability, avoid duplication and allow progress to be tracked and measured.

  • MCSN receives music copyright levy from NCC as RELPI grumbles

    MCSN receives music copyright levy from NCC as RELPI grumbles

    Following the receipt of over one billion Naira for musical works and sound recordings from the NCC, the Musical Copyright Society Nigeria Ltd/Gte (MCSN) is facing a seeming revolt from the Record Labels Proprietors Initiative (RELPI).

    The copyright levy has been one of the legal provisions of Copyright Laws in Nigeria since 1988 but never implemented until President Bola Tinubu came into power.

    According to MCSN, the eventual disbursement of the fund will certainly reach the grassroots and every Nigerian creator so as to begin to actually lift poor musicians out of deep poverty.

    Until the release of the first tranche of the copyright levy, which has seen the RELPI campaigning that it represents sound recording owners, the initiative has never for once spoken or collected rights for Nigerian creators.

    READ ALSO: President rallies relief materials to affected Kwara communities

    MCSN also acknowledged the grumbles of the RELPI saying, “We are not unaware of the grumblings of certain interests fronting some Nigerian entities to continue with the unprofitable actions of more than 30 years to hold down the progress of the Nigerian music industry. They have been operating under various guises confusing the copyright system, thus preventing it from delivering the desired results to our creatives, particularly in the music industry.”

    Currently RELPI is claiming to represent some of the biggest music labels in Nigeria as well as their artists in collecting their copyright levies.

    Reacting to RELPI grumbles, MCSN said, “For a start, sound recordings are a shared interest between record producers and performers (performing musicians) whose performances were recorded. The rights in sound recordings are normally shared between the producers and performers, in certain territories at the ratio of 50% a-piece.”

    Continuing, MCSN in a statement further said, “In Nigeria, most performers (performing musicians) whose performances were recorded in albums are direct members and assignors of MCSN, vis-à-vis many independent record producers and label owners. These are the real owners of sound recordings in Nigeria.

    “The Performing Employers’ Association of Nigeria (PMAN), which is the only legally recognised union/association of performing and employers of musicians (including recording producers and labels) has a subsisting agreement with MCSN with which MCSN represents the copyright interests of all performers and producers in Nigeria.”

    MCSN concluded its submission saying, “In line with international norm and best practices, MCSN will administer the rights of ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, PRS, SACEM, SAMRO, etc in Nigeria and remit the appropriate royalties to them after deducting the appropriate taxes for the Nigerian government. This is one key area that the people in RELPI are apparently not considering. No Nigerian, not even RELPI can go to the USA, UK, Kenya or South Africa to dictate to the governments of those countries on how they should run their copyright system. Nigeria will not give room to this.”

  • Queen of Africa Reality TV show to position African women at the centre of leadership

    Queen of Africa Reality TV show to position African women at the centre of leadership

    Africa is redefining how women’s leadership is celebrated with the launch of ‘Queen of Africa,’ the continent’s first reality television show dedicated to spotlighting African women as leaders, changemakers, and cultural ambassadors.

    Designed as a continental platform for visibility and impact, ‘Queen of Africa’ brings together 54 women—one from each African nation—to compete for the historic title of Africa’s First Lady. The initiative is convened by King Jerry Nrialike, President of the Uto Umuokpu Anambra Association in the United States, and marks a bold shift from conventional pageantry to purpose-driven representation.

    Queen of Africa is organised by LFC international production limited, Uto Umuokpu Anambra, USA women association and Christian Ruart fashion group NYFW experience.

    At its core, Queen of Africa is built to address long-standing gender imbalances by creating a platform where African women are evaluated not by appearance, but by leadership capacity, vision, and social influence.

    Speaking at the official launch, King Jerry Nrialike described the motivation behind the project as deeply rooted in empowerment and inclusion.

    “Women have long been marginalized due to cultural and societal barriers. Our goal is to empower women, especially those who need it most. This platform is about creating real opportunities for women to lead, inspire change, and foster unity across the continent.”

    Read Also: Pate: Nigeria’s healthcare ecosystem undergoing major transformation

    Open to women between the ages of 25 and 40, the competition adopts a transparent selection process that combines national nominations with public participation from both African and global audiences. Contestants will be assessed on merit, leadership qualities, and votes, with the eventual winner holding the Queen of Africa title for a two-year reign.

    Beyond the title, the winner will receive a $50,000 cash prize, a branded vehicle provided by Innoson Motors, and international recognition as a continental ambassador for African women and leadership.

    King Jerry Nrialike, Executive Producer and Director of the show, said Queen of Africa was intentionally designed to go beyond entertainment, positioning it as a catalyst for social development.

    “Queen of Africa is a movement aimed at breaking the glass ceiling and accelerating women’s development across Africa.”

    The reality show will be streamed across multiple digital and social media platforms, ensuring accessibility and global reach while allowing African women to tell their own stories through lived experiences, culture, and leadership journeys.

  • Olympia: Alpha and Jam Africa makes claim for world’s biggest billboard

    Olympia: Alpha and Jam Africa makes claim for world’s biggest billboard

    Alpha and Jam Africa has unveiled Olympia, described as the largest mixed-format advertising board in the world.

    It is located beside the Wole Soyinka Centre for Art and Culture, fo rmerly known as the National Arts Theatre, in Lagos, Nigeria.

    The media group said the project marks the first phase of its three-year programme to develop ultra-large billboard infrastructure across 10 cities globally.

    Speaking on the significance of the installation, the firm said Olympia was conceived not merely as an advertising structure but as a landmark development within Nigeria’s evolving outdoor advertising space.

    Strategically positioned along the Eko Bridge corridor, the site sits on one of Lagos’ busiest transport routes.

    Read Also: Downstream deregulation, forex reforms save Nigeria N6trn fuel import losses – NMDPRA 

    Alpha and Jam Africa estimates that over 11,000 vehicles pass through the axis hourly, while the Lagos Blue Line rail system conveys more than 250,000 passengers daily between Marina and Mile 2.

    The structure is also visible from the Alaka Interchange and Third Mainland Bridge.

    Olympia features a hybrid design combining large-format static and digital advertising. It consists of two landscape static panels measuring 100 by 30 metres each, alongside a 30 by 4-metre portrait LED digital screen.

    According to the company, the configuration allows brands to deploy both long-term static messaging and dynamic digital content simultaneously.