Talented Ghanaian songwriter and backing vocalist Bridget Osei Bonsu revealed a new movement set to champion the rights of backing vocalist in the county.
According to the beautiful Ghanaian vocalist, many of her comrades are going unnoticed for all their hard work.
Bridget detailed the challenges of backing vocalist in an exclusive interview on Pure FM.
Speaking with Iceman, she revealed that she has been a backup singer for eight (8) years. She said, “The unfortunate part is here in Ghana, we don’t regard background vocalists. Out there, if you are a background vocalist. It’s a job. It is a full-time job. If I should be a frontliner, I still need a background vocalist to work with. So I did not see any reason for me to be a frontliner because that was also a job.”
According to Bridget Osei Bonsu, her first hit was with SK Frimpong. She said after the song became a hit, she started working with one of top sound engineers and connected her to musicians and gigs. This was a huge move for her because everyone in the industry knew that the sound engineer she worked for works with professional background vocalists.
Bridget Osei Bonsu emphasized the importance of backing vocalist to musicians. She mentioned how her chorus motivated some musicians to actually finish up their songs. So if musicians derived such incentive from them, then background vocalists should not be overlooked.
Unfortunately, the narrative hasn’t changed much in this era.
According to Bridget, this is the rationale for forming the Ghana Background Vocalist Association. She said she started this movement last year to ensure backing vocalist are treated fair and square. And also receive any enumeration which they are entitled to.
She urged all background vocalist to come and join the movement before it is too late.
