The Headies Award is back for its 15th edition, and the 2022 Headies nominations are in. The Award theme for this year is, “Join the movement”. The Headies, established by the Hip Hop World Magazine of Nigeria, made its first debut in the year 2006. The theme was “The revolution is here”. Ever since then, it has gained more recognition across Africa and the globe.
While the Headies is arguably the biggest award show in Nigeria’s music industry, its past editions were sometimes met with disappointment from its fans. Its previous editions, which all took place in Nigeria, were plagued with a myriad of technical and production issues. However, this year’s edition is set to take place outside Nigeria in Atlanta, US at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center on the 4th of September 2022. This is a welcome improvement as it promises a better show while taking Afrobeats across the shores of Africa.
ARTISTS WITH THE HIGHEST HEADIES NOMINATIONS IN 2022
It comes as no surprise that Wizkid tops the list with 10 Headies nominations. Wizkid is undoubtedly one of the most well-known African artists, having received numerous accolades and recognition on global stages.
Among all the awards Wizkid has won both globally and locally, he has accumulated a total of 14 Headies Awards over the years. This is the highest number of awards he has ever bagged from an award show. Going by this year’s nominations, it looks like that number is only going to get higher.
Ayra Starr comes in second place, in a tie with Tems, who was a winner in the recently concluded 2022 BET Awards. They each have eight nominations spanning different categories.
Ayra Starr, the young R&B star of Mavins, began her career at 16. She started out in the fashion industry before moving full-time into music. Her album, “19 and Dangerous”, is nominated for Best Afrobeats Album alongside albums from Davido, Wizkid, Kizz Daniel, Ajebo Hustlers, and Teni the Entertainer. These nominations, alongside those from other big names in the industry, are telling of how fast the youngster’s career is rising. We love to see it!
Adekunle Gold and Davido follow closely with seven nominations each.
NEW CATEGORIES IN THE 2022 HEADIES AWARDS
This year’s edition introduces three new categories. This brings the total number of both voting and non-voting categories to 35, making it the biggest one yet. The goal of this expansion is to promote inclusivity in the African award show.
BEST INSPIRATIONAL SINGLE
This is a voting category that aims to recognize the best inspirational single, either by an artist or a group. Nominees in this category include “Everything” (Amen) by Timi Dakolo, “Jehovah Overdo” by Chidinma, “Yah” by Dunsin Oyekan, among others. See the full list of nominees here.
BEST INTERNATIONAL ARTIST OF THE YEAR
This voting category celebrates non-African artists or groups that have had the biggest impact on Afrobeats in the past year. Unsurprisingly, international stars like Beyonce, Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, Ed Sheeran, Nas, and Drake are the nominees for this category.
This category is particularly exciting, as it has the potential to take Nigerian/African music even further on the global music scene.
BEST DIGITAL ARTISTE OF THE YEAR
This voting award category is for individual Nigerian artists or groups that have had outstanding digital achievements and impacts within the past year. Under this category are nominees who have helped to push Afrobeats to the world. They include CKay, Davido, Rema, Wizkid, Joeboy, and Burna Boy.
These artists are among Africa’s most listened to, bringing in billions of Naira from streaming income.
PRIZE FOR THE 2022 HEADIES NEXT RATED ARTIST
The reward associated with this category makes its nominations a subject of intense discussions. In previous years, its winners usually left the Headies with not just the golden Headies plaque, but also a brand new SUV.
However, the prize this year is a little bit different. The 2022 Headies is taking it up several notches by putting a brand new Bentley Bentayga 2022 on the table… exciting!
Contenders for this category are Ayra Starr, Bnxn, Lojay, Ruger, and Zinoleesky.
This edition presents a handful of first-timers, including Magixx, Portable, and others in the “Rookie of the Year” category. This is a great way to welcome these newbies while applauding them for their hard work so far.
Nominees for African Artiste of the Year include Black Coffee, Burna Boy, Davido, and Wizkid from Nigeria, Diamond Platinumz (Tanzania), Soolking (Algeria), and Aya Nakamura (Mali). This category spotlights artists from all over Africa, promoting collaboration among different African countries.
Under the Humanitarian Award of the Year category, we have veterans like 2Face Idibia, Ruggedman, Davido, and Don Jazzy. See the full list of nominees here.
This edition of the Headies certainly raises the bar higher. This year’s edition would be playing an important ambassadorial role for Africa, therefore leaving little margin for error. We can only hope there is a significant improvement from the previous editions, therefore making it a production Africans can be proud of (no pressure, guys).