Abrewa Nana explains ‘IDWFM’

Abrewa Nana’s inclusion in the West African Idols as a judge has gone down with mixed feelings. It presented her an opportunity to sell herself internationally, and also to exhibit the enumerable talent here in Ghana. Lately, the phrase ‘It doesn’t work for me’ has almost become synonymous with her name: both here and in Nigeria. She has chorused “it doesn’t work for me”, one time too many and people have been wondering whether that’s all she has to say. Last week, at the ‘Top 10’ spectacular in Planet One, Nigeria, the audience kept shouting “it doesn’t work for me” whenever Abrewa picked the microphone to give her verdict.

Everyone (including Abrewa) had quite a good laugh. Later in an interview, she explained to JIVE that “it doesn’t work for me” is her unique way of saying “no”. “If somebody comes in, it’s either you say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. There are so many ways of saying no, but for me, I think I just enjoy saying ‘it doesn’t work for me’.”

She has taken note of people’s reactions to her ‘chorus’ and the possibility that it is what people will most remember her for when the singing is over. But since she can’t do anything about it (except to stop saying what she loves to say) she is focusing on the judging. “I’m proud to be a part of this West African Idols… I feel I am contributing to making somebody’s dream come true,” she says. “In all the people I’m working with are happy with what I am doing and that is most important. If they were not happy, then that will be a problem. No matter what you do, someone will always like or dislike you, so I just focus on the programme.”

In the meantime, Abrewa Nana is also working hard to possibly release her fourth album in June. In between her Idols routine, she flies between Ghana and Nigeria every week to make some studio time for the new cuts. The album might feature two of Nigeria’s hottest acts -- 2Face and P. Square.