CHANNEL O AFRICA MUSIC AWARDS: AND THE NOMINEES ARE…

 

Nominations for the 10^th Annual Channel O Africa Music Awards were announced today, revealing an open field in the race to claim Africa’s most prestigious music awards.

Nominees in the 14 categories include multiple double nods for over 10 artists, from East, West and Southern Africa, reflecting the outpouring of world-class music videos on the continent over the past year. It’s now up to fans to vote for their favourites in this public-voted event, with more than two months for the continent’s music fans to have their say.

This year’s nominees list features many longstanding members of the African music scene, among them Zimbabwe’s Buffalo Souljah (“Basawine” for Most Gifted Ragga Dancehall Video), South Africa’s Oskido (“Tsa Mandebele” for Most Gifted African Southern), and Mozambique’s Lizha James (“Vais Rochar” with Anselmo Ralph for Most Gifted Female).

The list of nominees is also bursting with new faces, including the five contenders in the Most Gifted Newcomer category –Nigeria’s Lola Rae (“Watch My Ting Go”) and Burna Boy (“Tonight”), South Africans Moneoa (“Is’Bhanxa”), Idols SA Season 8 winner Khaya Mthethwa (“Move”) and Kenya’s Victoria Kimani (“Mtoto”).  And the multiplicity of genres emerging in this highlight category of the 10^th Annual Channel O Africa Music Video Awards – from Dance Pop to contemporary Afrobeat and Afro-fusion – provides a brilliant glimpse into the diversity of sounds that currently define Africa’s music scene.

To celebrate a decade of recognising the best African contemporary music talent, the 10^th Annual Channel O Africa Music Awards has expanded the prestigious Most Gifted Video of the Year category to 12 nominees, increasing the pressure on nominees in the most fiercely fought category at the awards.