Nigerian entertainers Davido and Emmanuella lost out to Eddy Kenzo, as he won the award in the favourite African star category of the 2018 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards.
As a result of their star power and fan base, Nigerians expected either Davido or Emmanuella to clinch the award but Eddy took home the plaque.
The Ugandan star shared the news on his Instagram page.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgwZ1VLnG_j/?taken-by=eddykenzo
He wrote: “Congratulations Uganda, Congratulations East Africa, Congratulations Africa, Congratulations Eddy Kenzo team eddy kenzo #WeDidit I’m speechless”.
The award ceremony took place in Inglewood, California, US, on Sunday. The winner was determined by voter preferences and other considerations.
Kenzo was born in Masaka, a town in the central region of Uganda. He lost his mother at age 5, after which he lived a street life for 13 years. After high school, he adopted the stage name Eddy Kenzo and began writing music. In 2008, he was featured in the popular song Yanimba by Mikie Wine.
His breakthrough 2010 song, Stamina, was met with critical acclaim and was used as a theme song for Yoweri Museveni’s presidential campaign.
He released the album Ogenda Kunzisa in 2012. One year later, he released Kamunguluze and toured the United States. The song Sitya Loss became his most popular song to date, and a video of the Ugandan children Triplets Ghetto Kids dancing to the song went viral. Its success led to the launching of a petition to have the dancing children appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.