Joyce Akosua Twene also known as Joyce Blessing is a Ghanaian and African gospel musician.
Early life and education
Joyce Akosua Twene known popularly as Joyce Blessing was born to Mr Christopher Kwabena Twene and Mrs Gladys Yaa Kyewaa on 15 May at
Accra, Ghana
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, ...
. Joyce is the fourth child of her parents. She grew up with other siblings who were all raised by their mother in
Kumasi
Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is t ...
, the
Ashanti Region
The Ashanti Region is located in southern part of Ghana and it is the third largest of 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of or 10.2 percent of the total land area of Ghana. In terms of population, however, it is the mo ...
of Ghana where she had her primary school and Junior High School education .
Music career
Joyce had always had an endearment for music and hence started singing in the church at an early age of 14 and also made sure she never missed musical concerts held at her vicinity when she was young even when her mother tried to prevent her from attending these functions.
Joyce has arguably disabused the stigmatized notion that gospel musicians are inactive on stage. She sharpened her live performance artistry when she was part of the “See Them Band” group in
Kumasi
Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is t ...
. She was the youngest among them. She played for five years in addition to being a backing vocalist for the likes of
Evangelist Diana Asamoah,
Jewel Ackah
Jewel Ackah ( 1945 – 27 April 2018) was a Ghanaian highlife and gospel musician. He composed the lyrics of "''Arise Arise''," the party anthem of the centre-left Ghanaian political party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), popularly sung ...
,
Mary Ghansah
Mary Ghansah (born May 13, 1959) is a veteran Ghanaian gospel musician and ordained reverend minister. She is best known for her worship career which spanned over 40 years.
Personal life
Mary, was born to Mr Joseph Ghansah and Madam Elizabeth A ...
,
Ernest Opoku Jnr
Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include:
People
*Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor
*Ernest, M ...
, Aseibu Amanfi and other musicians in Ghana.
Joyce started ministry in 2007 with showbiz name Joyce Tuffuor and recorded her first album, dubbed "Obi Ntu Nyame Fo", which translates to English as "Nobody Advises God".
Joyce shot to fame in the year 2013 with a new showbiz name Joyce Blessing. She unleashed her song "Monko Moakyi", a single from her Heavy Price album which has become one of her most popular songs. The album included other hits, such as Kantamanto Nyame, Blessed Be The Lord, and Nyame Aguamma. This was under the management of Media Excel Productions in collaboration with DaveJoy Productions. Blessing won six awards at the Ghana Gospel Industry Awards, organized by Adom FM.
She also made her first entry into the ultimate
Ghana Music Awards
The Ghana Music Awards, currently known as the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMAs) for sponsorship reasons, is an annual music awards event in Ghana established in 1999 by a local event organizer and planner company known as CharterHouse to origi ...
in 2014 where she grabbed nominations for Gospel Song of the Year, Best Female Vocal Performance, Gospel Artiste of the Year, Album of the Year and Best Collaboration of the Year categories, with her “Heavy Price” album which she won the Best Gospel Album of the year with Heavy Price.
In April 2017 SHE released her album 'AGYEBUM' which earned her several nominations in the 2017 National Gospel Awards where she won the Best Praise Song of the Year Award and again won an award at the 2017 4syte Music Video Awards for the Best Gospel Music Video of the Year with her visuals shot for the “Lord’s Prayer single”.
In 2018, Blessing took the lead among other gospel musicians in Ghana with copping nominations in all awards organized in Ghana. She recently won the Gospel artiste of the year at Ghana Entertainment Awards USA, Ghana Music Awards South Africa Gospel Artiste of the Year and grabbed three awards at the recent BAMA Awards in Ghana, making a sum of 22 awards copped in just five years in ministry, an achievement no Ghanaian gospel musician has been able to attain so far.
She again grabbed nominations for Gospel Song of the year and Gospel Artiste of the Year at the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards, three Music Awards and more.
In 2019, Blessing has nominations for Hippo Music Awards based in Uganda and six nominations at MAWA 2019 in Nigeria and won an award with her latest Repent single at Maranatha Global Worship Music Awards In Kenya.
She currently has 24 awards and six albums to her credit.
As part of her gospel ministry, she has set up a charity foundation which donates to the deaf and blind, accident victims, and mentally challenged people in Ghanaian society.
Awards and nominations
Discography
Albums
Major Singles
*''Monko Mo Akyi''
*''Mensei Da''
*''Heavy Price''
*''I Swerve You''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blessing, Joyce
Living people
Ghanaian women singers
Ghanaian gospel singers
Year of birth missing (living people)