On Tuesday, October 1, the organizers of the prestigious music award, Headies unveiled the nomination list for the 2019 award ceremony.
On September 21, 2019, Nigeria’s biggest and most prestigious music award show, The Headies, opened its doors to receive entries for its 13th music award with this year’s edition themed ‘The Power of A Dream’.
The year in review was announced as January 2018 and June 2019. The award show is scheduled to hold October 19th, 2019.
Running for over a decade, the 13th Headies award will feature 23 unique categories in recognition of Africa’s finest artists.
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One of the most prominent categories in the ceremony is the Next Rated Award. This category is designed for the next big thing in the Nigerian music industry, superstars such as Wizkid and Davido have both gone on to attain greater feet since they won the award as promising youngsters.
The Next Rated Award is essential because it was formulated in order to help establish the budding artist. Like every other category, there would be one winner but that does make other youngsters losers.
Instead, it would aid the superstars to redefine their craft and hone their skill.
Before Burna Boy became the African Giant in 2019, he was nominated in the same category in 2013 but missed out to Sean Tizzle. The ‘Ye‘ singer has since attained mainstream recognition and has won numerous international awards.
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Regardless of the result of the Next Rated Award on October 19, the nominees must forge ahead and create an impeccable career from here henceforth.
The nominees include- Rema, Fireboy DML, Victor AD, Joeboy, Lyta and Zlatan. We would be reviewing their performance through the calendar year.
Here are the six nominated Next Rated artist.
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Rema
Don Jazzy’s protegee, Rema has built a profound music resume for himself. He has released three EPs in 2019 and he has been dubbed the rising star in the music industry.
It is almost impossible not to know at least two songs from the youngster.
At the tender age of 19, Nigerians have christened Rema the golden child of the modern music era. Aside from the investment made by Mavins Record CEO, Don Jazzy, Rema’s mettle and zeal for greatness is apparent in his execution.
Rema also got recognition from former USA president, Barrack Obama. He is the favourite to emerge victorious in this category.
2. Fireboy DML
Are we about to experience another Headies drama?
Earlier, we mentioned Rema who is signed to Don Jazzy’s Mavins Record, next up is Fireboy DML; a budding singer affiliated with Olamide’s YBNL.
It would be interesting to see another rift between Don Jazzy and Olamide.
Just to refresh our memory, during the 2016 Headies Awards, Olamide went on a ranting spree after his protegee at the time Lil Kesh lost to Don Jazzy’s Reekado Banks. At the time, everyone backed Lil Kesh primarily because he had released a complete studio album and was an eagle soaring in the sky.
Moving on, Fireboy DML is another music superstar trying to establish profound career music for himself. He has released several hits including ‘Jealous‘ and ‘King‘.
Growing under the wings of Olamide, Fireboy has shown to the world that he is here to stand head above his contemporaries.
3. Victor AD
When Victor AD released ‘wetin we gain’ in 2018, he was on everyone’s lips. He has experienced mainstream exposure longer than any other nominee in this category.
The 26-year-old singer released ‘Tire you‘ featuring Davido and ‘Emoji’ in 2019 and he is still one of the most fascinating budding singers to listen to.
4. Joeboy
When Banku music meets Afrobeat, we have Joeboy. His unique musical style is courtesy of his affiliation with EmPawa Music owner, Mr Eazi.
Joeboy exudes a Mr Eazi-infused music style and it is working for him. His songs ‘Baby’ and ‘the beginning’ are two massive hits that sensitize the ears of its listeners.
Should Joeboy win the Next Reward Award, it would serve as a major boost in his career and also aid the credibility of Mr Eazi’s record label.
Joeboy is one of the most captivating music superstars to have surfaced in 2019. It is impossible not to love the budding singer.
5. Lyta
Lyta’s appearance on this list has sparked controversy on social media. According to social media users, especially Twitter users, Lyta has not had a major hit since he departed Olamide’s YBNL.
The young man is going through a psychological and mental transition in his personal life.
Here is what a Twitter said pertaining to Lyta’s nomination:
LOL Lyta on next rated ? LOL
— Àdìó diò Ọkọ màmá ẹ̀ (@tcompton_Lion) October 1, 2019
Reasons are best known to the organizers of the award ceremony on why Lyta was nominated. He has had decent songs including working with Davido on ‘Monalisa‘. The song has been able to redefine his stuttering music career.
Let’s see how it works out for him on the 19th of October.
6. Zlatan Ibile
A lot of people believe Zlatan deserves a bigger recognition than being lumped into the Next Rated category. He has gained mainstream popularity and has become a headliner in the industry.
In May 2019, Zlatan was arrested along side Naira Marley, Rahman Jago and two others in connection with an alleged case of internet fraud and money laundering.
He was subsequently released by the EFCC
