Afua Asantewaa's team argued over the GWR rules during sing-a-thon - Ola Michael

Prominent media personality, Ola Michael, has disclosed what he claims transpired among members of Afua Asantewaa’s team during her Guinness World Record attempt for the longest singing marathon in the world.

According to his account, during his visit to Afua at the Akwaaaba Village for the singing marathon attempt, some members of her management team were engaged in a backstage argument over the rules of the contest.

He observed that one individual opposed the idea of people being in the box with Afua during her performance, citing potential rule violations. On the other hand, another person disagreed, insisting that it would not have any impact on their attempt.

Speaking in an interview with Asempa FM monitored by GhanaWeb, Ola stated that Afua's team didn’t have a comprehensive understanding of the rules. He mentioned that this contributed to her disqualification.

“One of her team members was uncomfortable with Mercury Quaye being in the box because he felt it could jeopardize the whole thing.

"Another person argued that it does not breach any of the rules. So I was observing what was going on backstage but I didn’t know about the strict rules by then,” he said.

About the sing-a-thon

On December 24, Asantewaa embarked on a mission to break the Guinness World Record for the longest singing marathon.

She was the toast of December in GH as she sang for 126 hours and 52 minutes. She initially planned to end on 27th December; however, after consultation with her team, she decided to sing continuously for five days.

The event which took place at the Akwaaba Village in Accra, near the Kotoka International Airport, saw thousands in attendance in their bid to support her and be part of history.

A tall list of showbiz personalities including Nana Ama McBrown, Kwabena Kwabena, Efya, Sista Afia, Afronitaa, Delay, Cina Soul, Clemento Suarez, Akuapem Poloo, Lawyer Nti, Piesie Esther and OB Amponsah also thronged the venue demonstrating their collective support for the event.

The commentaries were overwhelmingly positive, with people consistently applauding and encouraging her to forge ahead in her impressive endeavour.

Why Asantewaa was disqualified

In a response to an email by JoyFM's Kwame Dadzie probing into the disqualification, the entity stated that Afua Asantewaa’s sing-a-thon attempt was unsuccessful because the guidelines around rest break timings were not met.

In the statement by the PR Executive for the Guinness World Records, Alina Polianskaya, spotted by GhanaWeb, it was established that these are standard rules that couldn’t have been overlooked.

“Afua Asantewaa’s sing-a-thon attempt was not successful due to guidelines around rest break timings not being met. These rules are standard across all of our ‘longest marathon’ records. We've seen how inspirational it has been for her fans…We wish Afua the best of luck with any future record attempts," the statement contained.

SB/BB