Record broken? Afua Asantewaa hits 106 hours of Guinness World Records longest sing-a-thon
At 9:00 a.m. today, Ghana’s Afua Asantewaa hit the Guinness World Record for longest singing marathon by an individual after singing for 105 hours.
Indian singer Sunil Waghmare holds the current record and Afua Asantewaa intends to do 115 hours to set a new Guinness World Record for the longest sing-a-thon after the last record was made in 2012.
While her supporters are eager to see her make the new feat, there have also been genuine concerns about being in line with the rules to ensure that Afua is on the right path and not just on a fruitless venture, as happened to Dominican singer Carlos Silver.
In a heartbreaking turn of events in April 2019, Dominican singer Carlos Silver’s ambitious attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the longest singing marathon was thwarted.
Despite singing for an astonishing 106 consecutive hours, surpassing the previous record, he was still disqualified by Silver for breaching the organization’s stringent rules.
Silver’s determination to break the record was evident as he performed over 5,000 songs during his epic 5-day singing marathon, marking his second attempt after an unsuccessful try in 2016.
Guinness Records cited video evidence revealing that Silver took breaks of up to 2 minutes between songs, a clear violation of the specified 30-second break allowance. (Related article: Meet Carlos Silver, the Dominican who sang for 106 hours but had his world record bid rejected.)
But expectations are rather high for Afua Asantewaa to sail through, with a team member disclosing that there’s a team calculating the periods for a break to ensure she is still within the rules of qualification.
Several fans who spoke with Graphic Online’s Kofi Duah a few minutes before 9:00 am expressed lots of optimism and confidence in her abilities.
Since she started singing at midnight on Sunday, Afua Asantewaa’s dedication and can-do spirit continue to inspire musicians across the country, with the likes of Shatta Wale, Sista Afia, Sarkodie, Kwabena Kwabena, Efya, and Kuami Eugene, among others, going to the Akwaaba village to give their full support.
It is worth mentioning that the impact of this project extends beyond the borders of Ghana since Afua’s journey has captured international attention, placing the country’s artistic prowess and cultural richness on the global stage.