Internationally recognized Ghanaian Afro-pop songstress, Noella Wiyaala has said she can pass for one of the most beautiful women in the world.

Speaking in a yet-to-be-aired interview on the Delay show, Wiyaala said: “Me, I know I'm not ugly. In fact, I'm one of the most beautiful women on this planet and God has blessed me with a beautiful body.”

Asked if that is what her husband saw in her, the singer explained: “The moment my husband saw me, he saw a beautiful woman unlike some men when they look at me, immediately, they go like: I'm a 'hard woman'.

“When I was growing up, a lot of the men that saw me and saw a beautiful woman, were more like the real men, but all these 'chewing gum' small men, they just look at you and immediately because you’re not wearing heavy makeup and it’s the usual they see, they kind of look at you [in a funny way]. They’re not mature.”

Last year, Wiyaal caught the attention of the South China Morning Post, published in Hong Kong, where they cited the Ghanaian singer as a role model for Chinese women to follow.

A senior editor at the Post, Luisa Tam, wrote “Like Wiyaala, we must look deep inside ourselves and find out what makes us special, and then own it and wear it proudly. That’s individuality, and it’s cool to be one of a kind.”

In fulsome praise of Wiyaala’s tenacity and influence, Luisa added; “Ghanaian pop star Noella Wiyaala, the self-proclaimed “Lioness of Africa”, was rejected three times by a television talent show. The reason? The executives said she wasn’t “feminine” enough for their show.

In spite of this, she has repeatedly refused to conform to their traditional idea of what makes a woman beautiful. Rather than turn herself into another Beyoncé or Rihanna, she has kept her short hair and muscular body. Wiyaala said she “didn’t care” about what the executives thought, and preferred to be herself, and wear her short hair because she “feels cool”.