Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
MTN SAMA 18Official Press Release
MTN SAMA 18 A NIGHT OF MUSIC, GLITZ, GLAMOUR AND A GREAT DOSE OF HUMOUR
08.05.2012
MTN SAMA 18 a night of music, glitz, glamour and a great dose of humour
Broadcast live from Sun City’s Superbowl on SABC 1 to millions of viewers countrywide, the 18th Annual MTN South African Music Awards belonged to a guitar-playing singer-songwriter from the Eastern Cape.
The broadcast awards night saw Zahara take home an additional six SAMA trophies – bringing her total to seven, including the SAMA award for Best Selling Full-Track Download of the year awarded on Sunday night. However the seven excludes the SAMA Award won by Johan van der Colff for Best Engineer for Zahara’s Loliwe and the SAMA for Remix of the Year won by DJ Sbu for Lengoma featuring Zahara at the Sunday evening awards ceremony.
It was fitting that Zahara opened the show with a stunning rendition of her hit song “Loliwe”, accompanied by the main awards’ house band that included a full brass section.
Dressed in a rainbow-coloured dress, Zahara’s performance was just one highlight in a platter of top-notch performances that were spread across the over two-hour event.
Alongside Zahara, Mi Casa proved that a warm-hearted song about “These Streets” and filmed in Alexandra can take you big places when the trio walked away with three awards, including the publically voted MTN Record of the Year.
In a startlingly innovated move, when Mi Casa took to the stage to perform “These Streets”, the performance was filmed to look like a music video for viewers at home – and created a stir in the audience which included Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture and other dignitaries.
RISA Building 4 150 Republic Road cnr. Bram Fischer Drive Randburg 2196 T +27 (0) 886 1342 [email protected]
AKA’s recognition as Male Artist of the Year cemented Hip Hop’s place in the South African musical mainstream once and for all and, as AKA said himself on accepting his award, “This one is for Hip Hop!”
Winner after winner took to the stage to receive the newly-designed MTN SAMA trophy from an array of artists and celebrities, including Arthur, Pabi Moloi, Unathi Msengana, Jen Su and Heinz Winkler. The evening was high on entertainment – as the ecstatic response of the public in the Superbowl’s gallery revealed.
Other highlight performances came from Shadowclub (their version of “Guns and Money” show the high quality rock that’s part of the South African music scene), AKA and Jack Parow with a one-two punch of “Victory Lap” and “Hosh Tokoloshe”, Phuzekhemesi and Jozi proving roots and contemporary heavy hitters can make musical magic, Snotkop and Kurt Darren making Sokkie cool, We Will Worship showing off a Gospel power that nearly lifted the Superbowl’s roof and HHP proving why he remains one of South African Music’s most gifted.
A poignant moment came when four of the region’s most gifted guitarists – Albert Frost, Guy Buttery, Selaelo Selota and Jimmy Dludlu – played beautifully over a visual montage paying tribute to the artists and industry players who have passed on during the last year.
Finally, it was left to Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse and Riaan Cruywagen to present Album of the Year to Zahara, who received the award saying “if a girl from a rural area can be on this stage in just eight months, anybody can do it. So live your dreams”.
These two presenters came on stage to a rapturous response from the crowd, following a series of pre-recorded inserts that showed the two at The Palace discussing the Album of the Year nominees over cocktails, at the poker table and other locations.
RISA Building 4 150 Republic Road cnr. Bram Fischer Drive Randburg 2196 T +27 (0) 886 1342 [email protected]
It was an injection of real South African humour into the 18th Annual MTN South African Music Awards that added to the mix of superb entertainment that was a fitting way for the country’s leading industry awards to come of age.
Ends
RISA Building 4 150 Republic Road cnr. Bram Fischer Drive Randburg 2196 T +27 (0) 886 1342 [email protected]
