The 27th Telecel Ghana Music Awards (TGMA) officially entered its awards season on Saturday when organisers Charterhouse Ghana unveiled the full list of nominees in a day-long announcement format, confirming competition across all categories ahead of the ceremony scheduled for May 9, 2026.
The announcement began at 11:00 a.m. with hourly category reveals across TGMA’s social media platforms through to 4:00 p.m., culminating in a special nominees announcement show on TV3 at 8:00 p.m. where the Big Five headline categories were confirmed. Industry stakeholders gathered at The Palms Convention Centre at La Palm Beach Hotel for a mixer that served as the final unveiling event.
Among the confirmed nominations, six artists are competing for Best Afrobeats and Afropop Artiste of the Year: KiDi, Wendy Shay, Kojo Blak, OliveTheBoy, Gyakie and Moliy. The category is among the most competitive on the night, spanning Ghana’s leading voices in contemporary pop and Afrobeats across distinctly different sonic styles. KiDi, who won the Collaboration of the Year award at the 26th TGMA last May for “Lomo Lomo” featuring Black Sherif, enters as one of the category’s most decorated recent competitors. OliveTheBoy, whose track “Asylum” won Best Afrobeat Song of the Year at that same ceremony, is also among the six.
In the Best Hiplife Song category, “Shoulder” by Medikal featuring Shatta Wale and Beeztrap KOTM is among the nominees. Released on June 6, 2025 and produced by Atown TSB, the track built significant momentum across Ghana’s urban music scene through the second half of last year.
All nominations recognise works released between January 1 and December 31, 2025, following an extensive submission and vetting process overseen by the TGMA Board and Selection Committee. Gospel musician Joe Mettle, who won Best Male Vocalist and Best Gospel Artiste at the 26th edition, will not be part of this year’s scheme due to a scheduling conflict.
The 27th TGMA is produced by Charterhouse in partnership with TV3, Closeup, the British Council, Guinness and powered by Telecel Ghana. The awards night on May 9 will be the 27th consecutive edition of an event that has grown from a domestic music recognition scheme into one of the most commercially significant music platforms in West Africa.
The full nominees list is available on the Ghana Music Awards official social media channels and the Charterhouse Live YouTube platform.
