It is not as if Gospel artiste Celestine Donkor expected a warm embrace from the Christian community following her collaboration with Efya and Akwaboah on her latest song, Thank You, Yedawase released in December 2020.

After all, she had witnessed negative reactions to other Gospel/ secular collaborations such as Daddy Lumba and Great Ampong on Hosanna, Herty Borngreat and Sarkodie on Take Them, Empress Gifty and Opanka on Abubro Nkosua, Lady Prempeh and Kuami Eugene on Mefre Yesu and Nacee and Guru on Boys Boys.

However, hers seems to have taken the spotlight because of her claims that radio stations are refusing to play the song.

Even though the Agbebolo singer has been using her social media pages to address the issue, she told Graphic Showbiz that her faultfinders had refused to pay attention to the song’s lyrics.

“At Luke 17:17, when Jesus healed the 10 lepers, only one person came back to thank Him and He asked of the others. Please, I don’t think all the lepers were believers but Jesus still required their appreciation.

“Last year was a difficult one for the world, with coronavirus claiming the lives of both Christians, non-Christians and those who don’t even believe in the existence of God. So what is wrong if I feature Efya and Akwaboah to express our gratitude to God?

“Maybe, my critics have not paid attention to the lyrics of Thank You, Yedawase because if they have, they will realise that regardless of who was featured on the song, we have come to say Thank you to God for preserving our lives,” she stated.

As much as Celestine has tried to explain herself, her critics such as Vision 1 FM’s presenter OB Nartey are not buying it.

According to the presenter, who clashed with entertainment pundit Arnold Asamoah-Baidoo on Peace FM’s Entertainment Review on Saturday, January 16, Gospel artistes could not serve two masters (God and the world) by collaborating with secular artistes.

“I don’t mind if Joe Mettle does a peace song with Stonebwoy since it is for the peace of Ghana. But it shouldn’t be that Joe Mettle will feature Stonebwoy on a song and they want to address it as a Gospel song. We can’t say Celestine Donkor’s song is Gospel when she has featured Efya, a secular musician on it.

“Gospel music is about the song, that is, the lyrics, the personality and the spirit behind it. You cannot serve two masters, you cannot mix them up.

“I’m not saying we cannot be friends but when it comes to music. We are propagating a certain message and it must not be diluted with the brands and identities. So if you are tired of doing Gospel music, retire,” he stated.

Read more: I waited 10 years to win a VGMA trophy - Celestine Donkor

In an earlier interview on Power FM, Efya said she was a child of God and would do more Gospel songs whenever she felt.

“I do not see myself as a worldly person. God gave me the talent and I can sing in any genre of music I want. I am a child of God. I will do more Gospel songs, love songs and any other genre. I am not going to let anybody’s opinion determine what kind of songs I make,” she stated.