The South African Music Awards known as the (SAMAs) are the most anticipated and respected awards in the music industry at large. This event sees the celebration of South African music and the honouring of artists who stood out from the rest on the previous year.
Instead of the event bringing joy and excitement they seem to bring nothing but bad publicity from the moment the nominations are announced. These awards seem to be more controversial every year, with lots of politics about the criteria for selection of the nominations and the judging panel being questioned. With many musicians who seem to meet the selection standards being constantly sidelined, these awards seem to always find a way to tick off many people.
The event had always been hosted at the Sun City Arena. Due to it being far from Johannesburg many artists had to sleep over, and the accommodation for artists always proved to be a nightmare which resulted in many not pitching for the event. The announcement of the move to Johannesburg was accepted with excitement, but the announcement of Monte Casino as the host put lots of fears to the surface. Can Monte Casino be able to accommodate the large numbers that are expected to grace the event? This was the question being asked by the media.
Instead of the event bringing joy and excitement they seem to bring nothing but bad publicity from the moment the nominations are announced. These awards seem to be more controversial every year, with lots of politics about the criteria for selection of the nominations and the judging panel being questioned. With many musicians who seem to meet the selection standards being constantly sidelined, these awards seem to always find a way to tick off many people.
The event had always been hosted at the Sun City Arena. Due to it being far from Johannesburg many artists had to sleep over, and the accommodation for artists always proved to be a nightmare which resulted in many not pitching for the event. The announcement of the move to Johannesburg was accepted with excitement, but the announcement of Monte Casino as the host put lots of fears to the surface. Can Monte Casino be able to accommodate the large numbers that are expected to grace the event? This was the question being asked by the media.
On Saturday South Africans witnessed what will eventually lead to the death of the SAMAs. Over the years SAMAs have grown very much despite other factors that were still lacking, but what I saw on Saturday was a huge step back for the event. The performances left a lot to be desired with most of them failing capture the audience; the only exceptions were Vusi Mahlasela and Ihashi Elimhlophe, The arrows and Tumi and the volume and Ray Phiri. The staging was terrible but the band was awesome. I still don’t understand the reason for the second stage because there seemed to be only five people watching until the end of the show. Most of the nominees I was not familiar with even most of the performers. The tribute to the singers that have passed was just terrible and there was no special tribute for the legendary jazz singer Zim Ngqawana to honour and salute him in style.
This year’s SAMAs should really raise concerns and the people behind the scenes should be questioned before these awards die before our eyes. The show lacked highlights and fell flat on presentation style. The only thing that the SAMAs made clear and that was these awards are just one foot from the grave. If nothing is done to rescue these prestigious awards, in no time they will be six feet under.
This year’s SAMAs should really raise concerns and the people behind the scenes should be questioned before these awards die before our eyes. The show lacked highlights and fell flat on presentation style. The only thing that the SAMAs made clear and that was these awards are just one foot from the grave. If nothing is done to rescue these prestigious awards, in no time they will be six feet under.
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