sigmund The ongoing covid 19 pandemic hasn’t left the world the same ever since it broke out in China late last year before spreading out to the entire world.
Most businesses since then have been severely affected and others halted almost around the entire globe after different countries enforced lockdowns.
The entertainment industry hasn’t been spared either especially in Uganda with most entertainers crying every day of how they are almost left to eat from the bin.
Most of them are actually dancing to Suspekt Leisor’s ‘Wulira enyumba’ song but on empty stomachs.
One of the primary jobs of entertainers is to create showbiz and stay in the limelight which enables them to stay relevant to their fans.
As more calls grow from the entertainers towards the government to open bars and other entertainment centres, we take a look at some of the celebrities that were trending before the lockdown that have managed to stay on top of their game and those who have slid down the pecking order.
We take a look first at those that have managed to keep us hooked both musically and on their social media pages.
1. Crysto Panda
He might be a rookie in the music industry but this lockdown has surely helped him to elevate his musical career to a greater and much more promising height than it was before.
The MC turned singer already has a blossoming TV career besides his music and tops this list without much debate.
He teamed up with TNS singer Sheebah to give us one of the best bangers of the year, a remix of his earlier song titled ‘Kyoyina Omanya’ that we have danced to throughout this lockdown indoors.
He went ahead and capitalized on the popular saying in town ‘ebiluma abayaye’ and released a song in it that has done quite well.
He’s also been a regular performer on the Club beats at home online concerts.
These achievements can be sort of a consolation to the boy from Masaka who tragically lost his baby a thing that seemed to weigh him down.
2. Spice Diana
The first female artiste appearing on this list. That’s what they call the power of a woman that even in times of crises they always have a way of staying relevant.
The light skinned Jjangu Ondabe singer has the most active social media pages to be honest. It is always awash with her pics slaying and all looking like she just fell from heaven whereas the rest of us are busy trying to survive an apocalypse.
Besides that, her music has been all over radio and tv stations even ending last year on a musical high.
Her collaboration with Tanzanian bongo flavor star Harmonize did quiet well with a catchy line of ‘me I like Ugandan water’ making us think if the Tanzanian singer meant the Victoria and Nile waters.
Kokonya, Kwata wano and Ndi mu Love have been some of her songs rocking our air waves too.
Spice Diana who recently celebrated her birthday has been a regular on the Club Beatz online at home concerts and it’s fair to say she’s served us real hot chilli pepper and we can’t seem to get enough of her petite sexy body.
She has also got her brand moving and I don’t think there’s any artiste who has been endorsed by different companies such as Spice.
She’s the brand ambassador of companies such as Yaket the makers of yaket water commonly known as ‘Spice Diana’s water’, Itel mobile phones, chipper cash platform a mobile cross border money transfer platform in Africa and recently became the ambassador of Lato milk.
The pandemic couldn’t have affected her any much bigger and not forgetting by the way she is the sexiest female artist of the industry whether you agree or not, that’s a bitter fact that you will have to swallow and accept.
3. Sheebah Karungi
The karma queen has been on top of the game since the middle of the past decade and she seems like she is not slowing down anytime soon despite the numerous challenges thrown at her.
Churning out hit after hit in an industry that was once dominated by males, Sheebah has managed to break down the gender barriers and pave a smoother way for other female artists to make their way into the game and thrive.
One of the aspects that have always been attributed to the Nakyuka singer is the proper management team she’s under led by Team No Sleep manager and entertainment veteran Jeff Kiwa.
Jeff has been around and worked with some of the top dogs in the industry such as aspiring lord mayor Joseph Mayanja aka Jose Chameleon and the once dynamic duo of Radio&Weasel.
This year has surely held Sheebah back but despite she’s managed to stay atop. From building her multi million mansion last year, she’s gone on to release a full album titled Samali with some of the chart topping singles such as Nakyuka, Ninda, Empeta, Ekyama among others.
As if that’s not enough, she got numerous nods in international awards such as MTV Europe music award for best African act and the African Entertainment Awards.
Although she lost either of the nominations, it was a huge recognition for her hard work and a step in the right direction.
Hopefully she get nominated and win big in the MTV Africa awards slated for next year in February to be hosted by Uganda.
That’s not without mentioning her sanitary pads knowns as Holic pads that have taken the market by storm.
Her social media pages have always been awash of the star that keeps fans glued to their star and the lockdown hasn’t done her much bad.
She takes our no.3 spot for the most relevant artistes at the moment.
4. Eddy Kenzo
First veteran male artiste to appear on the list and who else would it be if not the multi award winning Big Talent boss Edrisa Musuuza.
From giving us a tune that got us through the first half of the pandemic Tweyagale, the singer has continued to stay relevant despite most musicians of his era going under water.
Though, he appears on the list of those up, it’s fair to say this year has done him more harm than good.
He had his Eddy Kenzo festival that was supposed to take place in March at Kololo independence grounds cancelled after having millions of shillings pumped into it.
He also got stuck in Ivory coast which drew the attention of even the speaker and other notable Ugandans to have him fetched back to Uganda.
Ivory coast football legend Didier Drogba even offered his private jet to have him flown back to the Pearl but this did not come to fruition but he finally managed to get back home safely.
As soon as he was home, he went ahead and clashed with People power fans after an audio of him leaked
accusing the People power leader Bobi wine of hypocrisy and selfishness not forgetting the previous hard year that took a toll on him with his ex baby mama getting married to her gynecologist.
But as a son of the duck (kaana ka kambata) he managed to beat these odds stacked against him and scooped an ambassadorial role with the Ministry of tourism and has embarked on a plan to promote Uganda’s tourism sector both home and abroad.
He even discovered his long lost sister of years back whom he had always said that disappeared from him while still on the streets.
He recently won an award for best international musician in the HAPA awards in the US plus having nominations such as MUMA awards in Cameroon in a category dominated by continental stars such as Diamond Platinums, Davido.
Another nod came in the Afrimma awards which he lost to Diamond Platinumz and the Nigerian achiever’s awards.
5. Lydia Jazmine
Another female popping up on this list is chocolate skinned and beautiful Nabawanuka Lydia.
The masuuka singer does not seem to have felt alot of the adverse effects of the pandemic and even if they did, they haven’t affected her like other artists in the industry.
The singer has continued to look absolutely amazing keeping our tongues waging over her social media posts and she has served us some of the hottest internet breaking saucy pics that date back to her birthday photo shoot.
The singer has several music collaborations and singles out doing so well but what has kept her inside our minds and lips is her PDA with local rapper Fik Fameika.
These two have continued to leave fans second guessing on their social media pages from the pics they take in arousing styles that leave fans thinking that they are up to something more than music and could actually be mingling school beans.
It was at one time rumoured that the singer had aborted Fik’s kid a thing she vehemently denied and even forced a news reporter to apologise to her.
Though Jasmine has maintained that Fik is her best friend and nothing more than that, we are left to wonder if Jay treats all her male besties like the Kutama rapper.
Jazmine has also been a regular on the Club beats at home online concerts and surely gave us one of the best performances when she teamed up with fellow vocalist sensations Irene Ntale and Lilian Mbabazi.
6. Winnie Nwagi 
How could our most bumlicious and curvaceous Nwagi miss out on this list? Of course she couldn’t so relax.
The Swangz Avenue singer seems to be the most controversial artist at the moment but well hell yeah, her job is to make news since it’s a showbiz industry and she does that well.
Musically she hasn’t been bad as she gave us a super collaboration with Freeboy titled Kwata Essimu that got us grooving in the early stages of the lockdown and a sweet reggae song titled Everything.
However her being on the news makers is rather for other reasons less than musical ones.
She first went on a blasting marathon with her fans on social media pages after a video of her seductively dancing on rapper Navio’s bombardier surfaced and showed the rapper fleeing from her Mt Rwenzori big butt.
She later on posed for pics in a swimsuit that left dirty thoughts in our minds but rather fans concentrating on the sexy pics, they exerted their energy on the pothole on the side of her thigh and another blasting marathon took over.
But nonetheless, she has always given us something to talk about her and kudos to her for her ability to grab the headlines.
Special mentions
B2C
Their Munda Awo tune has been a banger through out this year. Their song deservedly competes for song of the year.
Chameleon Bebecool and Bobiwine
Politics have kept them plastered in our atmosphere. Chameleon is aspiring to be the lord mayor of Kampala, Bobiwine for president and Bebecool is the chief campaigner distributing tshirts for President Museveni.
Daddy Andre and Nina Roz 
Recently threw us off our feet with a surprise kukyala a thing nobody expected since these two seemed to be in different relationships not less than a year ago.
Beenie Gunter
Became a father recently when his girlfriend gifted him a baby after being accused of child neglect by his house maid.
Artistes that have fallen down the pecking order.
1.John Blaq
No artiste was as budding as the Do Dat singer before the lockdown. He churned out hit after hit but that can’t be said anymore about him.
He’s tried to release a couple of songs in the lockdown but they haven’t received much airplay as was before. This can be attributed to him parting ways with his management.
2. Fik fameika
Not much more can be said about his success as he’s one of the best selling young crops but that seems nolonger the case ever since the pandemic hit us.
His controversial relationship with Lydia Jazmine that even got them recording a song titled Binji is what has kept him in our public face.
3. Cindy 
The veteran dancehall singer had one of the best year last year after her much anticipated Book party concert was a sell out at Lugogo cricket oval.
Her boom party song was one of the 2019 hits but she didn’t follow it with much success as most of her fans anticipated.
And after her nemesis Sheebah appears on the first list of artists who have gained, we hoped that Cindy would make it their too since fans have always pitted them against one another to determine the best but seems the Karma queen arguably bosses it here.
Cindy of late seems to have taken a musical break to try and concentrate on family after falling in love again.
She released a single Too much that hasn’t quite done well but nevertheless gave us one of the best performances on the Club beatz at home online concerts.
4. Vinka
The skinny Swangs Avenue has hit us after hit since around 2017 when she ceased managing then fellow Swangz avenue mate Irene Ntale.
After having signed to Sony music records, we thought she was destined for great things but that hasn’t been the case for the singer.
This year hasn’t done her any good either with only having her love panic song trying to keep her relevant but she’s surely swam down the channel.
5. Azawi
Another Swangz avenue singer on the list for those who have been pegged back. If it wasn’t for covid 19 this was surely Azawi’s year to blossom like a rose in the spring.
Last year ended on a high for her with her hit quinamino and she did start this year quite promising with Repeat it and Lo fit which quite did well but that was almost months back and right now she seems face off the music scene.
Hopefully when things go back to normal she will go back on track to become the superstar she was meant to be.
Others who have been silent include
Irene Ntale
Things seem to be always getting worse for the talented former Swangz Avenue singer Irene. Ever since she left the label, she hasn’t quite found her feet again.
There is no doubt that the Sembera singer is one of the most talented vocalists and instrumentalists we have but something is not going right in her camp.
She released a full album titled Sukaali EP but it hasn’t been successful like our sweet church girl Irene Ntale used to sell.
Fille
Nothing much can be said about MC Kats’ ex baby mama.
Things seem to keep getting worse for the No money singer after all the difficulties she’s been through in the previous years.
Musically speaking Fille needs to get her presence felt once again but for now she’s M.I.A (missing in action).
But well we can only hope that things go back to normal as soon as possible so that our musicians don’t go off the face of the music scene to other ventures as some of them have threatened to because we surely love them every bit for always keeping us entertained.
