Noella Wiyaala (known under the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Wiyaala; born 22 December 1986) is a Ghanaian

Afro-pop African popular music (also styled Afropop, Afro-pop or Afro pop), like Music of Africa, African traditional music, is vast and varied. Most contemporary genres of African popular music build on cross-pollination with western popular music. M ...

singer-songwriter who sings in her native language Sissala and Waala dialects and English, often combining all three languages within her songs. Wiyaala means "the doer" in the Sissala dialect. She has attained public renown with her single "Make Me Dance" and her androgynous image. After making her name in reality shows in

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

, she established a solo career in 2013 with the hit single "Rock My Body",(Dance move was initiated by Van Caleb) which won her two awards at the 2014 first edition of the All Africa Music Awards, the Most Promising Artiste in Africa and Revelation of The African Continent. Wiyaala is also associated with

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

Ghana and the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection of Ghana in campaigns against child marriage,

child poverty Child poverty refers to the state of children living in poverty and applies to children from poor families and orphans being raised with limited or no state resources. UNICEF estimates that 356 million children live in extreme poverty. It's estima ...

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

and

sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...

. She headlined the 15th London African Music Festival in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. In March 2021, she was among the Top 30 Most Influential Women in Music by the

3Music Awards The 3 Music Award is Ghanaian music awards ceremony held annually since 2018 to celebrate Ghanaian music. It was established by the 3Music Network with Media General TV3 as broadcasters. The Multimedia group became the media right holder in th ...

Women's Brunch.

Life and career

Early life

Noella Wiyaala was born in Wa, Upper West Ghana as one of four sisters and grew up in

Funsi Funsi is a small town and is the capital of Wa East district, a district in the Upper West Region of north Ghana. It has been a center of the Gurunsi Gurunsi or Grusi may refer to: * Gurunsi people, a people of northern Ghana and south and cent ...

and Tumu. She got first singing lessons from her mother, a

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

singer in the local church, and she has performed ever since she was 5 years old. Her surname, which she picked for a

, means "the doer" in her native Sisaala language. During her late teenage years, she played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. She attended Kanton

Secondary School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

and later Kanton Secondary High in Tumu, where she acquired a reputation for being a tom-boy, playing

and was in demand as a dancer and entertainer in school productions. She also attended Takoradi Polytechnic on an art and design course. In 2018, Wiyaala disclosed in an interview with Becky on the ''E with Becks'' show on Joy Prime that she has been married for four years but would not disclose the name of her husband. Only four people were present at her wedding; a lawyer, a judge and her mum and dad.

Musical career

From early childhood in the

Upper West Region The Upper West Region of Ghana is located in the north-western corner of Ghana and is bordered by Upper East region to the east, Northern region to the south, and Burkina Faso to the west and north. The Upper West regional capital and largest set ...

of Ghana, Wiyaala was active as an entertainer, earning her first income as a performer in a local bar in

Tamale A tamale, in Spanish tamal, is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa, a dough made from nixtamalized corn, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating or used as a plate. Tamale ...

. After attending Kansec Secondary High School, Wiyaala's musical career began in earnest when she joined the local music scene in Wa which centred around Echo Soundz Recording Studios. She performed at local events and recorded as a usually unpaid session singer for artists in the Upper West Region. In 2009, she recorded her first album ''Tuma'' ("Work") in the Sissala language at Echo Soundz Studios in Wa. Songs like "Dannu" and "Dirik…" soon became local hits. Looking to establish a national career, she made the journey to

to audition for Ghana's own "Stars of the Future". At the third attempt in 2011, she earned her way into the finals, winning two Golden Moments awards. Won the 2012

Vodafone Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...

ICONS Mixed Edition contest hosted by fellow Ghanaian DJ "Benny Blanco", as part of the Ghanaian band Black N Peach, while singing

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

's "Simply The Best". She left the Black N Peach band during April 2013, after having released one single ("Wonkoa"), to pursue a solo career with Djimba World Records. Her first release was "Make Me Dance" which featured Ghana's first-ever underwater scenes in a music video, and soon afterwards the

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

"Rock My Body", which quickly became a

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization in ...

and won her two awards at the 2014 edition of the All Africa Music Awards. Wiyaala won two of the coveted 23.9-carat gold-plated trophies for The Most Promising Artist in Africa and The Revelation of the African Continent. In November 2014 Wiyaala released her "official" debut album, the eponymously titled ''Wiyaala'' which was nominated for album of the year at the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards 2015 and the All Africa Music Awards 2015. Wiyaala won Video of the Year 2015 with "Africa" at All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA). Wiyaala-photo

Wiyaala began her international touring career in 2015 with

performance A performance is an act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Management science In the work place ...

s at the Hague African Festival in The

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and The Afrikadey Festival in

Calgary, Canada Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, making ...

. In 2016 Wiyaala performed at WOMAD UK where the

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

noted: "''Feisty is not the word – she (Wiyaala) is a powerhouse in the mode of a young

Angelique Kidjo Angelique or Angélique may refer to: * Angélique (given name), a French feminine name Arts and entertainment Music * Angélique (instrument), a string instrument of the lute family * ''Angélique'', a 1927 opéra bouffe by Jacques Ibert * ...

, Effervescent and funny, she rocked the crowd and got a great reception''" Wiyaala also joined In Place of War's "Voices of The Revolution" directed by Errollyn Wallen, an international collective of female musicians from countries of conflict around the world performing at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club and UK festivals including Shambala, Hull Freedom Festival. In 2018, Wiyaala, alongside

Ilhan Omar Ilhan Abdullahi Omar (born October 4, 1982) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2019. She is a member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party. Before her election to Congress, Omar served in the Minnesota ...

, the first

Somali-American Somali Americans are Americans of Somali ancestry. The first ethnic Somalis to arrive in the U.S. were sailors who came in the 1920s from British Somaliland. They were followed by students pursuing higher studies in the 1960s and 1970s, by the l ...

to be elected into the US Congress and

Sahle-Work Zewde Sahle-Work Zewde (, born 21 February 1950) is an Ethiopian politician and diplomat who is the president of Ethiopia since 2018, being the first woman to hold the office. She was elected as president unanimously by members of the Federal Parlia ...

, Ethiopia's first female president and others, was selected as one of

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

"African Women We Celebrated in 2018". Wiyalaa tours Europe in 2019.

Activism

Wiyaala is outspoken on the male-dominated culture and

polygyny Polygyny (; from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); ) is the most common and accepted form of polygamy around the world, entailing the marriage of a man with several women. Incidence Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any o ...

of some African countries and to stand up for

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

and against family violence in her native Ghana. Her song "Tinambayai" in Sisaala language has been regarded as a protest against the exploitation of women in Africa. Wiyaala has featured on

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

talking about early child marriage and has expressed sympathy for

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

as a means to encourage young girls into completing their education so that they can be the ones that make the choices in their lives and also declared her success would serve as an example to her community that there was a future for young women beyond an early forced marriage. "Make Me Dance" has been included in the top of feminist songs for the 2013 winter by

Bitch Bitch may refer to: * A female dog or other canine * Bitch (slang), a vulgar slur for a human female Bitch or bitches may also refer to: Arts and media Film and television * ''The Bitch'' (film), a 1979 film starring Joan Collins * ''Bitc ...

feminist magazine. Wiyaala has also partnered with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection of Ghana's government and

on several projects to help protect the rights of children and

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

issues.

Musical style

Wiyaala sings both in English and her native language Sisaala. She writes her songs herself. She has earned praise for her bold and powerful voice and distinguished timbre. Given

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

and

as role models and inspiration. She had often been called "man-woman" by the boys in grade school and nowadays she cultivates an androgynous image of herself, for which she had been compared to

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...

. Also, she has expressed admiration for African artists like

, Miriam Makeba and Brenda Fassie. Her song "Africa" has been inspired by

Sherifa Gunu Sherifa Gunu is a Ghanaian soul musician. She was born a princess into a royal family of the Kingdom of Dagbon, in the Northern Region of Ghana. Gunu had interest in music and dance during his childhood days. Sherifa has been in various danci ...

. Her music style has been described as

Afro-rock Afro rock is a style of rock music with West African influences. Afro rock bands and artists in the late 1960s and early 1970s included Osibisa, Assagai and Lafayette Afro Rock Band. Style The style relies on the use of rock string instruments ...

with elements of tribal folk music while the latest single "Rock My Body", released in June 2013 together with Ghanaian

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

singer Jupitar leans more towards

and

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

. Wiyaala cited as inspiration the 1969 song "Wreck A Buddy" by

Nora Dean Letetia Leonora McLeanObituary
hkhfuneralservices.com; accessed 7 October 2016. (8 Janua ...

and The Soul Sisters. She did also perform in the opening of the 2014 Stanbic Ghana jazz festival. The single "Go Go Black Stars...Goal!", released in April 2014, on the Djimba World Records label, sung in English and Ghanaian languages, also features tribal

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s and stadium choruses. The same song had been picked up as the unofficial hymn of the national football team of Ghana for the

2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...

. Wiyaala got nominated as Best Sporting Artist in Ghana Sports Excellence Awards 2014.

Discography

Wiyaala's first release after the breakup with Black N Peach was the single "Make Me Dance". Originally produced by "Genius Selection" in Ghana, it has been remixed in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

by "Bill Delia" for the international market. "Make Me Dance", along with an acoustic Wiyaala_performing

version, will be distributed on the "Djimba World Records" label under exclusive license to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

-based "JTV Digital". The single has been released internationally on 7 October 2013, and it is available on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

. The music video "Make Me Dance" was shot in the studio and on location at

Prampram Prampram is a coastal town in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The town is located in the Ningo Prampram District. Prampram (Gbugbla), the capital of Ningo-Prampram, is 15 minutes' drive from the port city of Tema and 45 minutes from Accra, the ...

. It features Wiyaala in scenes shot underwater and dancers from the Henokami Culture Troupe from New Ningo. Wiyaala had to take swimming lessons for the best performance while on camera. "Make Me Dance" got released also in

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

ed form in Nu-disco,

Breakbeat Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that tends to use drum breaks sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as hip hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat hardcore, and UK ...

Drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

and

Trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

styles on 9 December 2013. The "Make Me Dance" Remix EP was mastered in the Paris-based La Source Mastering Studio and released worldwide through Djimba World Records. On 8 December 2013, Wiyaala and Plug.dj held an online-only listening party of the "Make Me Dance"

Remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

es EP before the official release. On 28 February 2014, Wiyaala released a new single, "You Got The Power", again distributed on the "Djimba World Records" label. The single is also available on

. Her self-titled album ''Wiyaala'' was launched in November 2014 at the Alliance Française in

. Wiyaala performed songs from her album and other local and international superstars. The show also witnessed picturesque dance performance from Flash Mob Ghana. One major highlight of the event was when her parents joined her on the stage to perform, backed by the

Icons contestants. She also released her song "Angel" in early December 2014 during

Viasat 1 Viasat 1 was a Ghanaian television channel owned by the Swedish listed media group, Modern Times Group (MTG). It was replaced by '' Kwesé Free Sports'' in 2016. The channel was awarded a licence from the National Communications Authority of ...

's ''The One Show''. The video of the single "Africa" taken from the album won Video of the Year at the All Africa Music Awards in November 2015. During the first edition of the All Africa Music Awards held on 27 December 2014 in Lagos, Wiyaala won two of the coveted 23.9- carat

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

-plated trophies for "The Most Promising Artiste in Africa" and "The Revelation of the African Continent". She has been commended by

for her achievements and hailed as a youth icon and an inspiration for young Ghanaians to strive for success. In 2015, Wiyaala received six nominations for the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards winning Best Songwriter and Best Female Vocal. At the second edition of the All African Music Awards 2015, Wiyaala won the best Video for "Africa" directed by Stanley Ajjetey. 2015 saw features on AJ Nelson's "Power to The People" and Dark Suburb's "Mama". In December 2018, Wiyaala released her second album ''Sissala Goddess'', preceded by the singles "Village Sex" and "When the Lord Get Us Ready". She released music videos for both, as well as one for the fourteenth track on the album ''Feeling Free''.Archived a
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Films and television

Wiyaala made her TV acting debut in late 2013 in the

hit comedy series '' MultiKoloured''. In February 2016 Wiyaala made her movie debut in the Ghanaian feature film ''No Man’s Land''. and for which she has been nominated as the Golden Discovery 2016 at the

Golden Movie Awards ''Golden Movies Awards'' is an annual award that celebrates outstanding achievement in African television and film. The inaugural edition was held on 27 June 2015 at the State Banquet Hall, Ghana. In May 2016, Nadia Buari was unveiled as an ambassa ...

Fashion

Wiyaala got nominated "Female Personality of the Year" at the 2014 Ghana's Fashion Icon Awards, with a dress sketched and designed by herself. She designs her stage dresses and

jewellery Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a wester ...

to showcase the culture of the people from her home region. She has also been recognised for her style by winning the Best Individual Style Award at the Glitz 2015 Style Awards. Recognized for her sense of

fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

, stage dressing and style, Wiyaala is influential throughout the world with Hong Kong's South China Morning Post citing her as a role model.

Philanthropy

Wiyaala has made her intentions clear to recruit, groom, and sponsor young talents from

and its surroundings as her way of giving back to society. She built an Arts and Culture Center in her community.

Videography

Awards and nominations

, - , Ghana music awards UK 2019Best international touring act

Tour

Full List of Wiyaala’s Europe Tour 2019 And Their DatesWiyaala European tour 2019

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1986 births Living people People from Upper West Region Takoradi Technical University alumni 21st-century Ghanaian women singers 21st-century Ghanaian singers Ghanaian singer-songwriters