Urban Gospel music star Scott Evans has bitterly bemoaned the exemption of Urban Gospel artistes from the Gospel Song of the Year category for the 2023 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMAs). 

He argued that the exemption is unfair and in fact, flies in the face of an assurance the VGMAs organisers have given. 

The singer-songwriter and performer also warned that the organisers of the music awards scheme, which is Ghana's first and most prestigious, that they will regret sidelining Urban Gospel artistes "in the fullness of time."

Evans said this when he appeared on the No.1 Live Worship programme on No.1 FM, 105.3.

He first posited that "satisfaction is something that's eternal, it's from an inward experience," and with that categorically stated he is not satisfied with the 24th Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMAs) nomination he received. 

Scott Evans has been nominated in the Best Music Video category for his 'Best Side' music video directed by REX. 

In the category, he is competing with Sarkodie, Stonebwoy, Black Sherif, KiDi, Kwabena Kwabena and Piesie Esther. 

Rather than the aforementioned category, the singer said: "I think that my song deserved the spot for Best Gospel Song of the Year."

He noted that all the songs in the Best Gospel Song of the Year category are good songs "but my song was also extremely good," and had to be among them. 

"Last year, my song did amazing [things] for me," he added. "So, I don't know why in the category of Best Gospel Song, 'Best Side' was not there."

According to Evans, he recently heard the PR Manager for Charterhouse, the organisers of the VGMAs, Robert Klah, say in a radio interview on Accra-based Okay FM: "Because there is no category for Urban Gospel now, the plan is that every year they [VGMAs] are going to give one slot for Urban Gospel artistes," in the Best Gospel Song category.

He cited that "last two years, KobbySalm was there. Last year, I was there. This year, I am not there, and I am questioning why because the songs that are there [on the Best Gospel Song of the Year for 2023] are not better than 'Best Side'. They didn't do better than 'Best Side'."

He admitted knowledge that the audio and video formats of a song are distinct and thus could be considered for separate awards, yet insisted that if his music video for 'Best Side' qualified for a nomination, "and my sound [didn't] - even if my sound [does not] qualify for that space [in fact] it should qualify [automatically] because VGMAs stated clearly that they are going to give a slot for Urban Gospel artistes," in the Best Gospel Song of the Year category. 

"Even if I was not [qualified to be] there, Kobby Psalm should have been there," the singer stressed. "Because last year, KobbySalm released a song. He released, I think, three or four songs. KobbySalm should be there."

If not KobbySalm, he pressed, PO Godson because "last year PO Godson released a song. That song should be there."

"Our songs are more visible even on the social media than theirs, so I don't know whatever influenced this [VGMAs] decision to omit us [Urban Gospel artistes] from the scheme," he bemoaned, hinting at the scheme regretting the unfair treatment when eventually "in the fullness of time, when Afrobeats, when Afro Gospel, when Urban Gospel takes over, and we're occupying the space 100%..."

The Afrobeats/Amapiano 'Best Side' was produced by the award-winning Nektunez.

The nominations list for this year's VGMAs was released on Saturday, March 18, 2023.