History was made in Atlanta this past weekend as The 15th Annual Headies Awards was held to recognize the best in Afrobeats and African music and culture, the first time the awards show has been held outside of Nigeria.
The awards ceremony was held Sunday, Sept. 4 at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta and featured a star-studded lineup of performers, including Tiwa Savage, FireBoyDML, Adekunle Gold, Davido, Flavour, Kcee, Buju, Lojay, Goya Menor, Cohbams, 2Baba, Joeboy, Rugier, Olamide, and Asake among others. Other special guests included actress Lynn Whitfield.
Many of the performances also included dancers that integrated traditional African dance movies and attire with American dances and attire. The stage lit up with lighting, fire sparks and smoke to make the performances even more dramatic and appealing. And, the crowd was dancing and singing along to their favourite songs.
Wizkid and Tems were the top winners for their collaboration on the chart-topping smash “Essence.” Essence won song of the year and best R&B single.
This year’s awards ceremony introduced three new categories: international artiste of the year, best inspirational single, and digital artiste of the year. Chris Brown won the international artist of the year, which were American artists whose collaborations and contributions highlight African music. Other nominees included Beyonce, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Nas, and Justin Bieber.
Check out the full list of winners listed below, and click the link for more about The Headies Award show here:https://theheadies.com/
Best recording of the year: “Celebrate Me” – Patoranking
Best female artiste: Tems
Best male artiste: Burna Boy
Digital artiste of the year: Ayra Starr
Best streethop artiste:Goya Menor & Nektunez – “Amenor Amapiano Remix”
African Artiste of the year: Burna Boy (Nigeria)
Best Central African artiste of the year: Innoss’b
Best West African artiste of the year: Gyakie (Ghana)
Best North African artiste of the year: Latifa (Tunisia)
Best Southern African artiste of the year: Focalistic (South Africa)
Best East African artiste of the year: Diamond Platinumz
Best vocal performance (male):Oxlade – Ojuju
Best vocal performance (female): Waje – “Last Time”
Lyricist on the roll: A-Q – “The Last Cypher”
Best rap single: “Feeling” – Ladipoe feat. Bnxn
Best music video: “Champion” (Fireboy DML Feat. D Smoke) Directed by Tg Omori
Best rap album:Carpe Diem – Olamide
Best reggae & dancehall album: Three – Patoranking
Producer of the year:Sarz – “Monalisa” By Lojay & Sarz
Songwriter of the year: Adekunle Gold – “Sinner”
Best Afrobeats single“Peru” – Fireboy DML
Best alternative single: “Doings” – Flavour
Best inspirational single: “Cultural Praise:- KCEE & Okwesili Eze Group
Best alternative album: Intermission – Ibejii
Special recognition (outstanding impact on the entertainment industry): Efe Omorogbe, Sunday Are, Bose Ogulu
Special recognition (talent):D’banj
Headies’ viewer’s choice:Ayra Starr – Bloody Samaritan