Was it a poor show, judging by standards that the
Headies had earlier set? Yes. The production failed to cover itself in
glory. And a number of reasons can be put forward as causes. But the
bottomline shows that the organisation was substandard.
It’s quite the year for the Headies. This marks the
first time that two Headies Awards shows will be held in one calendar
year. Wasn’t it just yesterday that Don Jazzy and Olamide were going at
each other, while the rest of Nigeria watched on in delight, disgust and
concern?
The second 2016 Headies rolled into town, with the
bar set in the hearts of fans to expect uncertainty. Many people wanted
something special, although no one had a clear picture of what they had
in mind. For many others, they just wanted a show to rival the best of
what the US had, and what MTV was doing on the continent.
These people were left disappointed. Everyone was left disappointed. Everyone who wasn’t a winner.
It has been a difficult year to run business in
Nigeria. The country is suffering from the effects a recession, which
has destabilized businesses, with inflation and the a downward spiral of
the Naira having negative ripple effects on business, and the standard
of living. It’s a tough year to secure sponsorships, and the Headies
felt the weight of it. The event ran without a headline sponsor.
Viewers from home who watched a live feed mostly
complained about the poor quality of the pictures and audio, while the
production of the show failed to impress. The ideas were large and
designed to be effective and entertaining, the performances all planned
out, and the awards looking very shiny. But execution left a lot to be
desired.
Compared to last year, and the year before that, the Headies started on time. Shout out to Ayo Animashaun
who gave the the thumbs up for the show to be kicked off when 90% of
the nominees and eventual winners were absent. Lateness is a culture of
the country, and the Headies was disrespected by the stars who were
blatantly late.
Empty
seats in front, made the affair look a bit unattended and sparse, and
eventually took something off the general shine of the event.
Transitioning was a big issue, with drags and friction marring the
entire production.
Hosts for the night, Falz and Adesua Etomi, were
amazing. They didn’t have enough practice, but they combined humor, wit,
slapstick displays to put out a good performance, and salvage what they
can. Falz and Etomi gave music performances, were glowing in fashion,
and also scored a winner with the funny depiction of Bobrisky.
Performances on the night was not bad. The organisers
attempted to mix vintage performers with the toast of today. Tony
Tetuila, Eddy Montana and Eedris Abdulkareem came through to give us a
trip back to the days of Remedies, one of Nigeria’s finest music groups.
Jazzman Olofin and Adewale Ayuba was a revelation, while Raskimono and
Aramide’ performance is melding of two generations of music. For real
music lovers, this was the best.
Planned peformances by Mr Eazi and Kiss Daniel were
cut short, but Seyi Shay was elegant and sey at the same time, giving
off a fire performance, before Flavour’s strength and artistry wrapped
up the night.
The show initially had a very low turnout of
celebrities. Their absence was glaring with numerous nominees and
awardees absent at the award. Notable absentees were the entire members
of Mavin Records and YBNL Records, two music companies whose bosses had a
bitter spat at the previous edition. Simi failed to claim her award for
“Best Vocal Performance”, Kiss Daniel failed to claim an award,
Illblisss who was a big winner in two categories, Patoranking who won
the Best Reggae/Dancehall single was absent, and Olamide won two awards,
but was a no show. Lateness and a heavy December schedule for many star
acts ensured that holes were left in the ceremony.
The magic of the Headies was on display as Kcee and Harrysong
reunited on stage. The former label mates were best of friends and
frequent collaborators during their time at until November 2016, when
Harrysong abruptly split from the group and swiftly set up a new music
company, named Alter Plate.
Harrysong granted interviews wgch revealed his
frustration and perceived lack of appreciation from Five Star Music. He
also took personal shots at Kcee by accusing him of disrespect.
But at the Headies 2016, all of that seemed to have
been abandoned and peace achieved. Harrysong’s ‘Reggae Blues’ won the
award for Song Of The Year, and Kcee, who collaborated with him on the
track climbed the stage to welcome. “We been dey fight, but it is all settled,”
the singer said, as they hugged and accepted the award from presenter
Uti Nwachukwu. The duo later showed up to present an award together.
There was drama too. It was an embarrassment for Phyno,
as the rapper failed to pick up any gold trophy. Phyno who appeared
late and had a ceremonious entrance, was awarded the Song Of The Year
for his efforts on ‘Fada Fada’, came out to receive his trophy. The
rapper opted not to give an acknowledgement speech, grabbing the mic and
coldly muttering "Me I no get speech o, Thank u for the award"
But no trophy was handed to him. No assistant usher
brought any trophy on stage for the star, and he was made to walk back
to his seat empty handed. Midway through the walk, he met up with Ayo
Animashaun, the organiser of the award and laid his frustration.
One of the events that will forever be ingrained in the hearts of the audience was Wizkid snubbing Eva Alordiah’s fiancé, Caesar.
Wizkid walked into the venue almost at the last hour sending the crowd
into a frenzy. While walking past he reached out to hug someone, Caesar
thinking it was him, stretched his arms only for Wizkid to ditch him and
hug Eva.
Ouch.
The event was later ended abruptly. With a number of awards not presented and Flavour showing up to round it off.
Was it a poor show, judging by standards that the
Headies had earlier set? Yes. The production failed to cover itself in
glory. And a number of reasons can be put forward as causes. But the
bottomline shows that the organisation was substandard.
But if you can look away from this year’s production
and see the bigger picture, then you will have a deep sense of
admiration for what Ayo Animashaun has done with the
Headies. It’s Nigeria’s most consistent and prestigious music show,
standing out as the yardstick for measuring the best in the country.
This year’s edition is the 11th\
While USA leads with the Grammy, and Africa can
always rely on the MTV Africa Music Awards to shine forth, we in Nigeria
has the Headies as our own curator of music history. And we have to
support it.
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