Vanguard’s entertainment reporter, Kehinde Ajose, was generously celebrated at the Nigeria Media Nite-Out Awards held on Sunday, 20th of September 2015.

Kehinde Ajose

He emerged winner in the Entertainment Writer of the Year Category, beating entertainment reporters from Guardian, Punch, Tribune, The Union, and Telegraph.

Ajose got the accolade for his excellent reportage of the entertainment industry. He is also the author of the soon to be published book Donjazzyfied. Also, Evelyn Usman of Vanguard won the award for the Crime Writer Of the Year, while Emmanuel Aziken won the award for Writer of the year (Politics).

The award was held at Times Square Event Centre, Ikeja. Nigeria Media Nite- Out Awards is organized by Solkem Entertainment and Media Limited. Solkem introduced the first ever media awards with the sole aim of recognizing media icons, personalities, individuals and organizations for their efforts.

Stories that could have notched Ajose the award

1. Survival tales of top music divas 

Everyone dreams of becoming a star and rubbing minds with the rich and famous, but only a few has what it takes to scale the hurdles to stardom. Behind the glamour ,their flawless skin, colourful designer outfits and stylish instagram pictures are scars they have have endured and still living with, as the stars blaring out of our radios and adorning our screens. This piece chronicles the survival tales of your favourite music divas.

2. 10 Shocking Nigerian music videos in recent times
Music videos are  mediums for artistes to showcase their looks, dance steps and tell a story of their songs. In the Nigerian music landscape, it has grown beyond that into a medium for display of gangsterism, sex and violence. Our videos have become bad deal for our impressionable youths who tend to copy most of what they see on TV and the internet.  And the Nigerian cinematographers  are pushing the limits and becoming more expressive in their shots

3. Wizkid and his many Twitter Battles
Starboy boss, Wizkid attracts controversies just like bees are attracted to honey. The youngster who formerly pitched his tent with E.M.E’s Banky W  is fast gaining a reputation as a trouble shooter on the social media.
In recent times, he has been involved in several Twitter battles with  colleagues in the entertainment scene. He had taken on the likes of BankyW, Samklef, Tonto Dike, Saeon, Davido and most recently Skales.

4.You will never see me wear bra and pant in a music video —Sunkanmi
When you meet Sunkanmi, the first thing that strikes you is her bubbly persona and alluring stature. The light-skinned Olasunkanmi Rehanat Alonge is a graduate of Geophysics from the Olabisi Onabanjo University. She is a budding Afro-pop artiste whose song, ‘For body’ is making waves. The fashionable rising star is a nominee for the most promising act category, Nigerian Entertainment Awards (NEA). In this interview, she talks about why Olamide featured in her song, why she can’t wear bra and pant in a music video, and the challenges of being an upcoming act, among other issues.

5. Who is the best music youngster of the streets: Korede Bello, Kiss Daniel, Lil Kesh or Reekado Banks?
The success of an artiste is said to be measured according to the acceptance of his/her songs on the streets. This generation of music lovers most often than not, careless whether the songs have meanings or not, all they desire is a rhythm they can flow with and dance to. Dbanj, Psquare, Davido, Wizkid, Kcee, Iyanya and even Olamide among others have all paid their dues in his respect and are smugly sitting in the zenith of Nigeria’s music ladder. They have all won in the streets and have moved onto higher plane.

6. Music reality TV show stars’ struggle for relevance in the industry
When music reality TV shows hit the Nigerian music scene, it was welcomed with open hands and much expectations as many believed it would make a great number of stars. And it sure did, at least in the beginning until the stars began to fade in the sky.
Aside from the likes of Iyanya, Omawunmi, Chidinma and Timi Dakolo, who have written their names in gold after emerging winners from music reality TV shows, other frontrunners have been grappling with the prospect of finding their feet on the music landscape. This piece takes a look at music reality TV shows stars yet to stamp their names on the scene.

7. Mixed blessings of movie stars turned music divas
After making a name for themselves in the movie world, these divas decided to dabble into music, leveraging on their star power and fan base. For some of them, it has been a gradual rise to the top, while for others it has been a fruitless effort. In no particular order, we chronicle movie stars who have ventured into music at one point or the other.

8. Top trending videos and their catchy details
Like the splendour of an art work, a music video is meant to attract, engage and appeal to the viewers. Over the years,the Nigerian music industry has seen the different shades of music videos being released to compliment songs, but only a few raise the bar and become points of reference. In no particular order, here are the top 10 music videos ruling the scene, with details and concepts behind them.

9. Survival tales of top music divas
Everyone dreams of becoming a star and rubbing minds with the rich and famous, but only a few has what it takes to scale the hurdles to stardom. Behind the glamour ,their flawless skin, colourful designer outfits and stylish instagram pictures are scars they have have endured and still living with, as the stars blaring out of our radios and adorning our screens. This piece chronicles the survival tales of your favourite music divas.

10. My plan for Valentine is to kiss a lucky stranger — Ella Martins
Benin Republic actress and singer, Ella Martins who once told Showtime that people think she did a surgery on her hips , in a chat with Showtime, said she is willing to kiss a lucky stranger on Valentine day. The Baby Chocolate star popular for her sex appeal puts it this way: “My plan for Valentine day is to kiss a lucky stranger.”

When asked how she intends to go about it, she said: “I will make it happen when I see a lucky guy.”

She also revealed that she is working on a new music video and has huge plans for the year.