South African Music Awards

The South African Music Awards (SAMAs) are an annual award ceremony, run by the Recording Industry of South Africa (RiSA), where accolades are presented to members of South Africa's music industry. Winners receive a statuette called a SAMA. The event was established in 1995. The ceremony is held in May or April every year and contenders are judged on performances made in the previous year. The show is held at the Super Bowl in Sun City and broadcast on SABC1. The ceremony features live performances by some of the nominees. The SAMAs are the South African equivalent of the American Grammy Awards.

Awards

SAMAs grouped into a number of categories (List of South African Music Award categories) which are representative of South Africa's varying popular musical genres. The majority of these are awarded to artists chosen by a panel of judges.

SAMAs that are not decided by a panel of judges

The winners of the following SAMAs are not chosen by a panel of judges:

Top 5

The Top 5 are considered to be the most prestigious of the SAMAs.

Other Awards

Several other awards are also given out, approximately 50 in total, with many changing from year to year to accommodate changes in music styles and changes in popularity of already existing genres. They include awards for specific genres of music, such as Mbaqanga, Rock, and Kwaito; as well as for performances in specific languages such as Afrikaans or Tsonga; and for other things such as production and music videos. At times genres are grouped together into a single category based on their popularity amongst a certain demographic (e.g. Best Urban Artist nominees are often Hip Hop, African pop and Kwaito artists grouped together since these genres are popular amongst South Africans living in urban areas).

Judging process

Most categories are judged by panels of unpaid, independent judges drawn from the broadcast and print media, as well as freelance writers and critics, performing musicians, and from academia. Entries are submitted by record companies belonging to RISA but the body of judges, which numbers a couple of hundred people, is chosen specifically for its lack of formal involvement with the record industry. Unlike some "academies", the body of SAMA judges is constantly evolving to introduce new expertise and opinion.

5th South African Music Awards (1999)

The 5th Annual SAMAs were held on 18 May 1999[1] with the following key awards issued:

10th South African Music Awards (2004)

The award ceremony took place on 29 May 2004 at the Sun City Super Bowl. Special, "of the decade" categories were introduced once off to mark the tenth anniversary of the SAMAs. The winners were: SAMA 2004 winners in major categories:

11th South African Music Awards (2005)

The award ceremony took place on 16 April 2005 at the Sun City Super Bowl. SAMA 2005 winners in major categories:

12th South African Music Awards (2006)

The award ceremony took place on 6 May 2006 at the Sun City Super Bowl. SAMA 2006 winners in major categories:

Lifetime Achievement Winners: Piet Botha, Joe Correira, Al Debbo, Thandi Klaasen, Rex Rabanye

13th South African Music Awards (2007)

The award ceremony took place on 14 April 2007 at the Sun City Super Bowl. SAMA 2007 winners in major categories:

14th South African Music Awards (2008)

The award ceremony took place on 3 May 2008 at the Sun City Super Bowl. SAMA 2008 winners in major categories:

15th South African Music Awards (2009)

The 15th Annual MTN South African Music Awards took place on 2 May at the Sun City Super Bowl. The multiple award winners included Lira, Goldfish, Thembisile and Joyous Celebration. Rhythmic Elements' 2 by 2 won MTN Record of the year. It was hosted by Trevor Noah and featured performances by top South African acts such as GoldFish, Bhekumuzi Luthuli (died April 2010),[2] Prime Circle and Zamajobe. Major winners were:-

16th South African Music Awards (2010)

The 16th Annual MTN South African Music Awards took place on 17 April at the Sun City Super Bowl. Kelly Rowland premiered the official MTN World Cup 2010 theme song Everywhere You Go alongside other African singers such as 2face Idibia, Zuluboy or Chameleone. Other local superstars who performed at the glitzy award ceremony which was presented by Trevor Noah, included Hip Hop Pantsula (HHP), Die Heuwels Fantasties, Sterling EQ, Romanz, and Soweto Gospel Choir SAMA 2010 winners:[3]

17th South African Music Awards (2011)

For the first time, the SAMAs were held in Johannesburg at Montecasino, Fourways. The main ceremony which was broadcast on SABC 1 was on Saturday 21 May 2011, but a smaller gala event took place the night before. Loyiso Bala was one of the presenters, and freshlyground, Goldfish and Nomfusi amongst the guest performers. Some of the big winners were:

18th South African Music Awards (2012)

The 18th Annual MTN South African Music Awards took place on 29–30 April at Sun City. They were regarded as a major success garnering praise from critics and the public. SAMA 18 came with a new silk award design.

And the winners are:

References

  1. ↑ "SA Rock Digest No. 17". Retrieved 2010-01-18.
  2. ↑ Thedeadrockstarsclub.com Accessed April 2010
  3. ↑ http://www.samusicawards.co.za/#/news/id:63

External links