Could Headies 2022 achieve its American dream?

The 15th annual Headies awards held outside Nigeria this year for the first time, is a bid to promote Afrobeats and put African talent on what Ayo Animashaun, the show’s founder described as the ‘center stage’. True to his foresight, Afroculture is enjoying wide acceptance in the current music age, as global awards like the Grammys and BET awards have signified. Burna Boy and Wizkid are among big names that have won these awards. The question this time, however, is, “Did the Headies award 2022 live up to its ‘American dream?’”

Award shows of similar staging hosted on American soil have taglines that go with them. They are usually grand, elegant, well-planned and adeptly executed. The expectations were not any less for the Headies last Sunday, when the show opened up at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta, United States. Firstly, it is important to note that an event of this kind is not easy to pull off. From sponsoring trips, booking a large venue, running wide publicity and doling out numerous awards—including a Bentley Bentayga SUV—they must have spent a fortune. Nevertheless, for an event that had over a year of planning and enjoyed success back in Nigeria, the Headies failed to deliver on some basic expectations.

The idea of staging the Headies overseas had more potentials than just promoting Afroculture. It was also an opportunity to improve the quality of the show itself and bring in a new stream of audience. According to recations gathered on various social media networks from people who stayed up to watch the awards, it did not pan out well. The Sunday night event was plagued with the same issues as before; not starting at the time announced, a not-so-impressive red-carpet show—you could hear the mumbles after each interview, weak delivery, poor sound and video quality, time wastage and so on.

Many also complained that the presenters this year were not a match. The female host, Osas Ighodaro had a good grasp of the Nigerian entertainment industry and carried the show well. Anthony Anderson, on the other hand, seemed content with throwing jabs at Africans in general. He seemed fairly unfamiliar with more than half of the guests at the awards night, and he made some obvious bloopers in an attempt to compensate for it. The transitions between the segments of the show were not seamless, and the hall used did not necessarily exceed the grandeur of a Nigerian events hall, not to mention that it failed to pull the crowd fit for its capacity. Another issue that makes to question the quality of planning that went into the show and its publicity within United States, prior to the event.

While a major part of the nominations and award winners seem fair, reasonable and aligned to general consensus, a few of the categories and their selection of winners are baffling. It seems odd that Wizkid x Tem’s Essence is still winning awards nearly two years after its release in 2020.

The whole idea of taking the awards to a more global audience, using Atlanta as launching pad is impressive. This idea might just be a portal to the future of the Headies awards. The organisers of the show did not seem prepared for this iconic move however. Many of the African American guests that came up as presenters did not know much about Afrobeats. The African representation at the awards show was, in my opinion, weak. Only a couple of faces from Nigeria came as presenters. Some users on social media have even questioned the sloppiness with which they think MC Rhelax (real name Fakorede), popular presenter of Hip TV’s ‘Streetz with Rhelax’ handled the interviews. That is after some others trolled organisers of the show on the camera quality used for their telecast.

The perpetual absence of certain entertainment big shots and award recipients at the show was another issue that took the shine off the Headies award. Big names like Wizkid, Davido, Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, Ckay, Tems and even Kizz Daniel were among those noticeably absent from the show. While organisers of the Headies may not take the full blame for this—as the artistes can best explain their absence at the awards—it takes the shine off the ‘Afroculture’ being celebrated as a whole.

In all, the Headies this year came with some snags, many of which could have been anticipated for a transition of this kind—Nigeria to America. However, a few more details could have been easily tidied up to make the show more glamorous to its viewers back at home, and better adapted to the American space where it chose to be held this year. If the organisers will decide to continue to situate it in America, then, preparations for next year should start in earnest to truly raise the bar for celebration of African music that has become a global phenomenon.

Owojuyigbe Mayokun is a budding journalist, creative writer and a social commentator who writes freelance articles via owojuyigbem@gmail.com