“What exactly would I be doing if I wasn’t serving Jesus? What message would I convey effectively to you all that would be life transforming if not the message of Jesus? I mean what is this life without Jesus? Most times I wonder how people cope without Him in their space. I’m proud to say that my life and story is an evidential proof that Jesus can use any soul who is totally and diligently yielded in service to Him. Indeed It pays to serve Jesus”.
One of the voices blessing the lives of people in the Gospel Music Space is Mercy Nneda Chinwo. Her sweet and soul-soothing sensational voice coupled with the grace and talent given to her by God has made her a rave in the Gospel Music Industry. Born into the family of five, on the 5th of September, 1990 and growing up in Rumodara, PortHarcourt, Rivers State, where she had her Primary , Secondary and Tertiary Education, Mercy did not have it all rosy.
Mercy Chinwo started in church at the Apostolic Church, Rumodara. She started singing at a young age where she joined the children choir. At age 8, her musical talent became glaring. Mercy’s father, having seen how his daughter lights up when she sings, reminding him of his own mother’s voice, decided to support his daughter’s musical career by all means. Mercy’s dream has always been to perform at a big stage with her songs touching the lives of many. Her father was ready to support her all the way but he didn’t live to see his daughter actualize her dream. He died while Mercy was very young. With Mercy being the first child, she had to step up to taking care of her siblings and her mother. As a result of this, she took her music career more seriously. She rose to becoming the choir director at her local church.
Things were not that easy for her and her family. In 2007, she decided to take up music as a career fully. She started to participate in musical competitions until she found Nigerian Idol. This competition which held in 2012 shot Mercy into the spotlight. She travelled all the way from PortHarcourt to Lagos State to take part in the competition. She kept it away from her mother when she auditioned for the competition, probably because she felt her mother would not agree to it as a result of the strong spiritual background they came from. In the competition, they had to perform secular songs and look the part while on stage. Mercy proceeded to the next stage of the competition but didn’t have a choice but to tell her mother who gave her full support. While in the competition, she covered the songs of secular artists and did well. Almost everyone recognised Mercy’s talent and could easily know there was more to her than meets the eye. She beat 12 other contestants and was awarded a cash prize of 7.5 million naira. With the money won, she was able to take care of her siblings and pay for studio sessions and producers to record her songs since there was no record label for a while. Many would have believed that Mercy would record secular songs and become a big Reggae and Blues and Afrobeat Artiste, knowing how well she sang the songs of these secular artistes while in the Nigerian Idol Competition but to the shock of many, Mercy didn’t. After the competition, she didn’t lose sight of God. She returned back to her local church where she came from and also completely transformed her way of dressing.
She recorded her first song in 2015, titled “Testimony” and “Igwe” in 2016. In 2017, she was signed to Eezee Conceptz, a Christian record label owned by Mr Ezekiel Thank God. She released the album, “My Cross, my grace”, under the record label in 2018 which had songs like “Excess Love” and “Obinasom” that got her recognised globally. Through her songs, Mercy was awarded the Best Gospel Artiste at the Climax Awards, 2018. In 2019, at the maiden edition of the Africa Gospel Awards Festival (AGAFEST 2019), Mercy Chinwo was named winner in three categories namely Africa Gospel New Artiste of the Year, Africa Gospel Female Artiste of the Year and Africa Gospel Song of the Year (Excess Love). Notably, the categories she won contained the likes of Sinach, Prospa Ochimana and Tim Godfrey. She also won Gospel Artiste of the Year, Galaxy Music Awards, 2019, Female African Artiste of the Year, Gospel Touch Music Awards, 2019, Artiste of Excellence West Africa, Africa Gospel Music Awards, (AGMMA), 2019.
Chinwo’s major drive is passion; she was passionate and worked very hard and didn’t lose sight of God. She had her eyes on the bigger picture, even though she started small. She knew exactly what she wanted and kept her eyes on the goal. When Mercy started singing Gospel Music, she was advised by people to substitute the name “Jesus” for ” Baba” or “Father” to attract everyone but she stood her ground. She was rejected by many but she didn’t allow that distract her. She believed in God and trusted Him till the end. Here she is today, winning for Christ.
SOURCES
Entrepreneurs.ng
BelieversPortal
