'All I Want For The New Year' - Iyanya

If anybody ever had reason to regret the passing of 2013, it has to be Iyanya. It was a year when he had the world at his feet, with his sexually-themed songs ruling the airwaves. He also toured the USA and Canada, received a number of endorsement contracts and began work on his new album. Then he broke up with his fantastic producer, D-Tunes.

2013 was his career golden year!

On the personal front, he did enjoy a lot of girl-time, which thankfully, he kept private. Iyanya was not embroiled in any controversy or scandal, and that’s totally excluding the annoying activities of Ghanaian actress, Yvonne Nelson who wore her broken heart on her sleeves, and ran round the world wailing ‘Iyanya’s heartbreak’ to whoever offered a listening ear.

Nigerians initially saw her pain, but with each increasing relationship interview she granted, the wave of media blackmail became excessive, tainting Iyanya’s public image. And still she appears to be unrelenting. For Yvonne Nelson, Iyanya has become a hapless tool to advance her popularity, feeding her insatiable desire to be in the news.

But the year didn’t exactly end stellar for Iyanya. He felt the dwindling popularity of his music. And that was solely not his fault. ‘Sexy Mama’, Flavour, Kukere, and all the other hit tracks from his sophomore album ‘Desire’, have been bled dry at every listen, creating the latent need for Iyanya to hit the studios and create a new hit.

First he made an attempt with ‘She Can Get It’, a sex-themed mid-tempo single, which failed to grow wings and fly. He withdrew to the studio, returning with a Soukous-inspired single, ‘Le Kwa Ukwu’. Which he made an excellent video for, and proceeded to pump the song with promo money, performing it at every concert, but still, it is yet to hit the stellar heights of his previous hits. He seems to have lost his mojo.

In 2014, Iyanya needs more than just a studio and a microphone. He needs the right producer handling his talent, honing and tweaking it until he gets to his best. He needs a new hit, and he needs it fast. The Nigerian entertainment business is a cruel, topsy-turvy dogfight. Everything is up-is-down, black-is-white, and volatile. The new hit song is a necessity [to keep his status in the halls of elite Nigerian performers. Maybe some ‘D-tunes again oh’ might be the perfect solution.

On the personal front, he needs reliable support from a girlfriend. The type to keep him level-headed. Then he needs to discover a way to shut up Yvonne Nelson. She’s bad news now. Like some resilient cancer, always a reminder of your mortality.

2014 might be the year when Iyanya fades. His Golden year is come and gone, and what lies ahead looks pretty tasking. Our money is on him to get it right.