​10 Reasons Why Brian Lubega Rightly Won Gospel Artist At The Uganda Music Awards.

This is a typical, “For Your Information” kind of blog post. We will not cast blame or shade on any Gospel Artist who is ranting, yes, ranting about The Uganda Music Award for Gospel Category being handed over to Brian Lubega for the year 2016/2017.
In the spirit of setting the record straight and passing information to those who may have not been observant enough to to watch the industry in which they were involved, we are sharing this. The ten (10), yes, ten reasons why Brian Lubega deserved the Gospel Artist of the year award.

1.  Brian Lubega, like many of the nominees, has worked extremely hard. We have interacted with many musicians. When Brian Lubega’s Nungamya song became a hit, he revealed to us that, he did not set out to even write a hit. He just wrote a song that people considered was a hit. That was all new to him. The million dollar question was, would Brian Lubega live beyond Nungamya? Unless you have buried your head in the sand, then you don’t know that he has actually grown beyond Nungamya. This bring us to the next point…
2.  Brian Lubega has been CONSISTENT. Again, like many of the musicians nominated in the category, although some are making a comeback into the industry.
3. Albums over singles. This should be a self explanatory reason. Brian Lubega as an artist has worked on authentic albums. And this is not to say the rest haven’t, but that is a factor to consider. If in doubt, kindly purchase that Wegukubira album released in 2017. If it fails to bless you, please come ask us to refund the money you spent on the album. We always root for albums because they showcase an artist better than singles, but we also understand that, Uganda is built for singles and a musician can remain ‘big’ even by releasing just two songs in a year and remain relevant. However, to many critics and those who judge music, one with albums stands out, if all of them are working hard and staying relevant to the industry.
4. Brian Lubega has been visibly a great contributor to the Gospel Music industry and has written for other musicians, including Waleeta Essanyu for Jackie Senyonjo and the Award-winning Nsiimye performed by Sandra Suubi. This must surely count for something. These are 2016/2017 songs by the way.
5. The 2016 Amazing Grace Concert. Yes, a good number of the other musicians who were nominated also held concerts last year and some have concerts this year. It is therefore, a fact that Brian Lubega, like any of the musicians nominated for The Uganda Music Awards was not an underdog in anyway but a great, if not a contender worthy of the win, and like the award showed, he won.
6.  Let us now talk about recognition in other awards. In the 2017 edition of VIGA Gospel Awards which is specific to Gospel music, Brian Lubega was nominated in numerous categories. This must count for something.
7.  Airplay. As much as his is not the upbeat Afro pop/afrobeat or dancehall or some other popular genre in Uganda, the fact that there is not so much mid-tempo and slow music means that Brian Lubega’s music will be played a lot during the hours when slower music is desired. Hence, he has reigned with songs like Wegukubira, Wakitiibwa, even with the recent Ndi Wuwe which is gaining traction, plus Kubayita – a wedding song.
8. Influence in church worship music. It is so certain that Brian Lubega knows what his mission is. This is not to say other gospel musicians don’t know their mission. The fact is, his music has infiltrated church worship like Judith Babirye’s music did in her earlier days. Of course, this must count for something.
9. The song Wakitiibwa, which was listed as a reason for awarding Brian Lubega The Uganda Gospel Artist of the year was released in 2016 as part of the album Wegukubira. So, it is quite amusing, rather than shocking, that some are suggesting that the song was released in 2015. It was not Nungamya which was nominated. Get it right.
10. In comparison to some of the other songs nominated, if the year 2016/2017 is considered, Wakitiibwa has had a longer stay on radio airplay than any of the songs. Some of the music nominated in the gospel category, like One Body is months old, and in comparison to the others, Wakitiibwa hit hard in the last half of 2016 and into 2017. Hence, in all honesty, just because the other songs on the list are topping now, it should not mean that they now deserve to be the only songs that should have won. That is a rather myopic view.

For your information, if any of the songs in the Gospel category won and anyone ranted about it, we would give you ten reasons why each of them could have won. 

Briefly, let’s talk about Amen by The Collectives. This is a group that emerged out of obscurity and wrote a song that resonated with the entire nation. That song, and the artists too deserved the award.
Levixone with Essala and many other SINGLES has stayed in the industry and infiltrated the mainstream and has won numerous awards. 

One Body, although is a relatively new song, because of the mere fact that Coopy Bly and Pastor Wilson Bugembe all have been releasing hits, it would pass. 

Exodus, after what seemed a few years of silence returned to the top of the charts with two songs, Nyinimu and Tosumagira, which are all topping charts in Uganda and East Africa.
So, there is no Gospel Artist who was on that list by mistake. Also, be informed that, these views are entirely ours. Feel free to comment on the blog with your views so that the discussion can continue.