She will release a new single every Friday until August 9, 2024.

According to John Sherren, Wiyaala’s manager, “we’re just clearing the decks in Wiyaala’s song vault before her third studio album drops in the second half of the year—assuming we can get all our ducks in a row.”

Among the releases will be a remix of her hit song ‘Rock My Body’ which features Ghanaian dancehall act Jupitar.

The Lioness of Africa had a great year in 2023, marked by her European tour and performances for notable figures including Kamala Harris, the Vice President of the USA, and the Presidents of Ghana and Italy.

Wiyaala has also graced the stage at the Africa Games in Accra and invested in her artistic legacy by establishing the Lioness Kingdom in Funsi.

The facility has 16 guest rooms, a restaurant, a recording studio, and two stages, one of which is the Wiyaala Arts Centre.

Wiyaala’s dynamic presence extends beyond the African continent, as she has recently been sighted in the UK en route to Slovenia, where she will kick off a summer season of European performances.

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Wiyaala’s Village Sex and Atongo’s No Beer in Heaven took the 419 and 316 positions respectively.  

The list was compiled after two years of research by Alan Tigay, a seasoned author and music reviewer.

Wiyaala announced the good news in a Facebook post recently when she wrote, “GHANA IS IN! 

THE GLOBAL 500 GREATEST SONGS OF ALL TIME: Atongo Zimba’s No Beer In Heaven at No: 316.  Wiyaala’s Village Sex at No: 419

The list was compiled by ‘World Listening Post’ managed by respected author Alan M. Tigay.

Tigay argues that the “list reflects global reality” not confiding itself to “a few genres,” and “just the past few years” and most certainly goes beyond songs performed in the English language as authors of such lists often, regrettably, fail to do.

However, the “inclusive list,” he conceded, is “not definitive” by any stretch of the imagination.

“If I can offer one insight it would be that the most one can hope for is a list that is impressionistic. In two years of research I have concluded that there must be at least 10,000 songs that merit inclusion in a roster of the 500 best,” he revealed.

The Global 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, included songs by legends like the The West’s Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, The Beatles, Leonard Cohen, and Edith Piaf; Africa’s Fela Kuti, Angelique Kidjo, Papa Wemba, Salif Keita, and Miriam Makeba; Asia’s Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, and Teresa Teng; and Middle East’s Ofra Haza, and Googoosh, among others.

The duo of Wiyaala and have carved a strong niche with their style of music, mostly getting huge following from outside Ghana. 

The Afro-pop singer-songwriter shared some beach photos with one of her friends, and the responses did not go in her favour.

Netizens body shamed her while others advised her to wrap up.

However, Wiyaala hit back at her trolls, urging them to be open-minded and read on appropriate dressing for specific settings.

A fan, in particular, noted “Your determination is admirable. Many more people people, especially girls, are looking up to you. I’m certain your mode of dressing is for the craft. However, the younger generation who are looking up to you may not see it that way”.

In response, Wiyaala said while she respects the laws of Ghana, “NO MAN TELLS ME HOW TO DRESS!”

Angered by the public outbursts, Wiyaala shared more bikini photos to flaunt her natural curves which she adorned with waist beads.

Wiyaala said she stands strong in her independence and refuses to be silenced as she hopes to inspire women to embrace their freedom and individuality.

The artiste, known for her distinctive style and powerful performances, addressed questions from fans during an interactive session.

Following an announcement that she will be holding her next show at the Alliance Française, a fan inquired why she opts for such venues instead of larger spaces like stadiums and event centres.

In response, Wiyaala said her approach to shows is different.

She emphasized that her craft, as well as her targeted audience, sets her apart from other artistes who may choose more conventional venues.

Another inquisitive fan pointed out that, Ghana is not her target hence the reason she is not so interested in the conservative type of performances other artistes will opt for.

Responding to the fan, Wiyaala refuted the notion, stating that she indeed has Ghana at heart.

She referenced her numerous performances for Ghanaian audiences and affirmed her connection to the country.

The question and answer session took a lighthearted turn when a fan inquired about Wiyaala’s age.

In a playful approach, she sarcastically said she is 83.

One at the Alliance Francaise in Accra on Friday 26 January and the second concert will be on January 27 at +233 Jazz Bar & Grill.

She will be performing with The Yaga Yagas, the band with whom she has been working since 2019, playing concerts all over Europe.

There will be some of the old favourites like Rock My Body and some new and very interesting songs.

“I’ll also be bringing some interesting and talented musicians from Northern Ghana. There will be master xylophonist Isaac Birituro, kologo player Stevo Atimbre and I’m introducing an exciting new young band from Wa, who go by the name of the Chin-Chigas,” she said.

Wiyaala in a social media post expressed her displeasure about how event organizers place her image behind other artistes on the event flyer.

The singer speaking on Hitz FM stated that, her outburst was not a strategy to ‘hype’ the show but to ensure the right thing was done.

“First of all, it is not a strategy to hype the program. If I am going to hype a programme, I will do the right thing. I am not one of the artiste who likes to be controversial, I don’t need that. I have never used that but I have always managed to sell out my shows wherever I go” she said.

Wiyala added that, her reaction was “not to start any fight between nations or camps.

Watch video below:

Complaining about my position on the event flyer isn't a strategy to hype the event – @wiyaala reveals to @doreenavio. pic.twitter.com/T6OTTiVxwH

— Hitz 103.9 FM (@Hitz1039FM) December 5, 2023

The Afropop singer-songwriter has been named as one of the artistes to perform at Saminifest, a concert by Samini, and flyers have been designed to that effect.

However, Wiyaala is not happy about her position on the promo flyer which has Kuami Eugene and dancer, Incredible Zigi.

Expressing displeasure on her official Facebook page, Wiyaala sternly demanded the organizers place her image in the right position or she opts out.

According to her, she not a back up artiste for her image to be put in the shadows of other artistes.

Addressing the issue, Samini rendered an unqualified apology to Wiyaala on behalf of his organizers, assuring to get them to do the needful.

He explained to his fellow tribeswoman that, the flyer was in no way intended to underestimate her creative prowess.

The duo has since settled the issue and Samini has announced the said flyer will be pulled down with immediate effect.

Wiyaala, who was speaking in a recent interview on ‘The North’ Podcast with Prince Hamdan Banang, said that the popular music awards scheme has spelt out a criteria for the selection of nominees which she thinks she doesn’t qualify for, and so has stopped filing nominations.

She emphasised that the criteria involved having one’s songs played on all radio stations in the capital, which is not possible for her because of her choice of language.

She explained by saying “in my heart I believe VGMA is trying to get all of us involved. But let’s not tickle and make a fool of ourselves, it’s very obvious and glaring what VGMA is all about. You have to be in Accra and your songs have to be popular in Accra.

“There are songs that were never popular in the North, but they made it, and the criteria keeps changing. It’s their rules and regulations if you cannot follow them, you shouldn’t enter.”

The ‘Tuma’ hitmaker stated that deliberate efforts to highlight acts from other regions whose songs are not widely known due to language barriers have not been made.

A situation, she explained, contradicts the definition of the VGMA as an award scheme to honour musicians in Ghana because it only focuses on specific groups of musicians in certain regions of the country.

She concluded by saying, “I will be as popular as anything in the North but because it’s an Accra-based programme and most of the radio stations are Accra-based, it is normal that they only hear Accra songs. Most of the DJs don’t understand our songs and a lot of people are not willing to understand our songs.”

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Wiyaala, who performed with the hopes of being honoured with a citation by the organisers, said they changed the initial plan to rather award her backstage.

This was after Dancehall artiste, Shatta Wale, who headlined the show alongside Wiyaala, was honoured with his award on stage before the over 5,000 fans who graced the show.

This ignited fury in Wiyaala who has boycotted the award until the organisers render a valid explanation and apology.

According to her, her management team was informed that persons from the camp of Shatta Wale ordered for the development.

In a lengthy statement she released on her Facebook platforms, she humbly requests Shatta Wale to deny or refute the claims so she can take further actions.

A portion of her statement read, “At about 8.15 pm Shatta Wale’s performance was paused and Council Member Vanessa L. Gibson and Wiyaala went to the back of the stage for the presentation of the citations. Vanessa went forward to do the presentation whilst an unknown person advised Wiyaala to wait. The presentation was made to Shatta Wale. Vanessa then immediately vacated the stage without calling Wiyaala forward. Wiyaala was then told she could receive her award back stage out of sight of the audience.

“Vanessa was challenged by members of Wiyaala’s team as to why she had not been called forward to receive her Citation on stage. Initially Vanessa blamed the organisers (SummerStage NYC), but eventually said that she had been blocked from calling Wiyaala forward by Team Shatta Wale. Wiyaala does not accept awards or citations from any organisation backstage.

“Wiyaala respectfully requests that Team Shatta Wale confirms if they did block Wiyaala coming on stage to receive her citation at the same time as Shatta Wale. And if they did no such thing, then Vanessa L Gibson should account for why she disrespected Wiyaala in this manner on a night of supposed unity and mutual support.”

Shatta is yet to publicly address the issue per the request of Wiyaala.

Among the people invited is Ghanaian musician Wiyaala.

She joins over 2,000 people who were invited to become voting members and more than 600 additional people who were invited as professional (non-voting) members.

Taking to her social media pages, Wiyaala thanked the Recording Academy for the invitation. She also shared an artwork from the Recording Academy acknowledging her as part of the ‘2022 Member Class.’

According to a report by Billboard, those invited have until July 12 to accept their invitations if they are to vote for the 65th annual Grammy Awards.

Meanwhile, Wiyaala is not the only Ghanaian to have received an invite from The Academy.

In 2021, Reggae/Dancehall artiste Stonebwoy and Grammy nominee Samuel Bazawule – popularly known as Blitz the Ambassador – were invited to be members.

This forms part of The Academy’s plan to expand and diversify its membership. It currently has more than 12,000 voting members and more than 3,000 professional (non-voting) members.

In a video posted to their social media pages, Director of Member and Outreach Systems, Ashley Thomas, reported that 56% of the total 2,700 invitees are from “underrepresented communities.” 

She further said the new invitees show “equality and equity” between men and women – “continuing our commitment to creating a more welcoming and safe environment for all individuals across the industry.” 

She noted that the new member invitees represent more than 13 different crafts and 22 different genres.

In 2021, the Recording Academy in a statement wrote that the invitations also reaffirm their recognition of the important contributions of music people to influence progressive changes within the music industry.

The resemblance between the duo is too striking that Wiyaala said she cannot ignore.

She has launched a search for the yet-to-be-identified fan, who she teased could be one of her father’s descendants.

She commented on the photo she posted on Facebook that her father has a lot of explanation to do after a fan pointed out that she could be her long lost sibling.

Wiyaala hinted that she would like to have a discussion with the said girl, who is said to be a student of Ola Girls Senior High School.

To the International Sissala lioness, her lookalike fan can mount a stage in her stead, and she would not be exposed as an imposter.

From their punk haircut to their not-so-feminine physique, complexion, diastema, height, the fan is just a photocopy of Wiyaala.

After she posted a collage photo of both, fans had a hard time picking out the real Wiyaala.

Some persons who know the fan have stated that she is also a student model and a musician.

The young military officer was lynched by a mob in the mining town of Denkyira-Obuasi in Ghana’s Central Region.

The song, written for her ‘distant cousin’, was initially featured on Wiyaala’s ‘Sissala Goddess’ album released in 2018, a year after the captain’s death.

“The Captain’s Lament’ talks about the inevitability of death. “Death is not for certain individuals only. When your time is up you will go, there is nothing you can do about it.”

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The entertainment crew, dressed in Fugu, was led by the celebrated singer Wiyaala who is based in Funsi.

She, however, did not pick up her guitar to sing.

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Instead, along with some kids, the singer performed a popular traditional dance used in the area to welcome people.

Mr Mahama was at Funsi to plead with the people to vote for him in the 2020 general election.

She said those comments made by pundits cost her a lot including some gigs she was supposed to execute.

Speaking on Showbiz A-Z, she said: “I would like to use this opportunity to apologise to any artiste who was offended by my comments.”

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She said she did not mean to undermine anyone but only reiterated some comments by pundits that “the music industry was being filled with junk music, that was what I was referring to.”

Wiyaala added that it has never been her intention to hurt her colleague, especially since she knows everyone is hustling to make a name in the industry.

Posing for the camera with her mother, the two were captured with smiles.

The singer did not hesitate to show her fans and followers a feel of where she is coming from.

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She flaunted her mum on her Instagram page for the world to see the woman who gave birth to a lioness as she calls herself.

Posting the photos, Wiyaala wrote: Staying indoors with my mum #Funsi Village life sweet ??????#Roarrrrrrrr

View this post on Instagram

Staying indoors with my mum #Funsi Village life sweet ??????#Roarrrrrrrr

A post shared by WIYAALA THE LIONESS??? (@wiyaala) on Jul 28, 2020 at 6:26am PDT

Her statement comes at the back of entertainment pundit, Arnold Baidoo’s claim that Wiyaala’s presence cannot be felt in Ghana.

But, replying Mr Baidoo, Wiyaala, told Joy News that such comments have cost her some money-making opportunities and recognition.

The pained artiste warned such pundits against downplaying her talent on their shows because the comments send potential clients who would opt for her away.

“People come into the country and when they need people like me to grace their occasions, some industry players downplay me. Such comments make people feel like I don’t care about the industry so I’m exempted when organizers are looking for artiste for shows,” she said.

The effects of such negative comments, she said can push people into suicide hence her decision to speak up against them than harbour the resentments and grievances.

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When asked why she is finally speaking out, Wiyaala said she hither-to did not want to be seen as bitter but the negativity was beginning to impact her life, brand and music.

She however insisted that she was not an artiste for the masses hence she will not tow the ‘sexually-revealing’ line some industry players expect before promoting female artistes.

“Those people expect us to live certain lives but not all of us can show flesh and ride on controversy and then again I am an international because not all of us can be local champions,” Wiyaala noted.

The singer, who said only four family members were at her private wedding, confirmed Ghanaian men didn’t show any interest in her unlike men from different countries who were rather dying for her love.

According to her, I think most Ghanaian boys I am not their kind of girl or something. Even I had guys from other African countries but Ghanaians made me feel a bit…[she paused].

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I think I just fell in love, she continued talking about the love for her husband and manager, John Sherren, adding that, now some guys are trying to approach her but she is off the market.

She explained that she would be getting most of her shows in the next months cancelled if the pandemic is not dealt with immediately.

In an interview with Joy News, Wiyaala urged Ghanaians to take precautions during this lockdown put in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

She, however, added that, she is grateful for life and hopes Covid-19 ends as quickly as it came.

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“It has affected me, big time, because I was supposed to be out there by now, rehearsing with musicians, getting ready for my tours. I should have been performing by now, in fact, all my 53 gigs, they are cancelling them as the months go by.

“I just hope this virus goes away so that we can all go back, because we are losing out,” she added

“So the most important thing is we should all stay at home! This is actually the time I’m writing new songs,” she added.

The singer, known as Wiyaala in the showbiz industry, says the centre will help portray and educate people about the rich history and culture of her town.

The renowned artiste who sings in her native languages Sissala and Waala combined with English, announced the move on her official Instagram page.

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She also posted a video of the threatre named the Wiyaala Art Centre which is under construction through effective communal labour.

Noella, aged 33, grew up at both Funsi and Tumu and is one of four sisters who got exposed to music at an early age with her first performance being at age 5.

Watch the video below

The acting President of the Musicians Union of Ghana, Bessa Simons, presented to the singer at the event which took place at the Accra International Conference Centre on December 7.

She took to her Twitter handle to share the news with her fans.

“Ghana’s Artist of the Year is @Wiyaala presented by Bessa Simons acting President of Musiga Thank you! @Ghartsnculture  Awards 2019 partnered by @MOTACGhana Sponsors @GihocL,” Wiyaala wrote.

Ghana Arts and Culture Awards which was launched in September 2019 seeks to honour individuals and brands who have made significant contributions to the Arts and Culture Industry in Ghana.

CEO of Azmera Restaurant, a Ghanaian catering facility that specialises in serving Ghanaian dishes, Ms Afua Krobea Asante, won the Cultural Heritage Entrepreneur.

Afrochella, a music festival organised in December won the Festival Event of the Year.

This comes after some local rice farmers in the Northern Region of Ghana complained of their produce going waste for non-patronage.

According to the farmers, the influx of foreign rice into the Ghanaian market was to blame for the phenomenon as rice produced locally continues to play second-fiddle on the market.

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Wiyaala, in a video that has hit the internet, was seen touring a rice factory that produces local rice – Avnash Industries.

Avnash Industries are producers and distributors of Royal Farmers Rice who process and package rice for the Ghanaian market.

The singer was taken through the production process from the raw stages to the finished stage.

A worker revealed to Wiyaala that rice farmers in the Northern Region were the company’s main suppliers.

The worker also added that the company had bought $4million worth of rice from the local farmers to process for the Ghanaian market.

Watch the video of the tour below: