Ahead of releasing of nominees list for this year’s edition, organizers of the annual All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA, have announced receiving a staggering number of 8,880 (Eight thousand eight hundred and eighty) entries at the close of submission of entries on August 20, 2021.
They described the number of entries received this year as record-breaking, noting that it’s the highest since the inception of the continental awards in 2014 which is 8.86% higher than the 2019 edition.
In its eighth year, AFRIMA, the ultimate recognition of African music globally honours African artists, music producers, songwriters, video directors, Disc Jockeys, Choreographers/dancers, and movie/film producers living on the continent or in the diaspora as well as International acts with the 23.9-carat gold-plated AFRIMA trophy.
This year’s entries were received from 50 African countries across the five regions of Africa and 10 countries from Europe and North America including Spain, the United Kingdom (UK), the United States of America (USA), France, Portugal, among others.
“The increased interest in the awards is a clear indication that AFRIMA, a platform of bringing Africans together through the instrumentality of music and culture, is growing immensely across Africa and globally, which is a very important goal for us. Also, it is a signal that artists and actors in the music industry are becoming resilient in the face of global challenges,” says Head of Culture, African Union Commission, Angela Martins.
Entries for the African continental awards in the last decade, which opened worldwide to artists on June 1, 2021, and closed on August 20, 2021, is higher than 2019 submissions of 8,157.
It would be recalled that the award could not hold in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Head of Communication and Partnership, AFRIMA, Zineb Seyad, “We are encouraged by the number of entries received for the 2021 AFRIMA. Of the 8,880 entries submitted this year; West Africa leads the pack with 30.4% of the total entries followed by Eastern Africa with 28.8%, Southern Africa with 22.9%, Central Africa and North Africa and International acts have 12.3%, 4.9% and 0.7% respectively.
The International Jury of AFRIMA recently announced additional three new categories for the 2021 edition, which included Best Soundtrack in a movie/series/documentary film, Best Global Act, and Breakout Artiste of the Year (Renaming Most Promising Artist).
Following the end of the AFRIMA 2021 entry submission, a 13-man International Jury of AFRIMA arrived in Lagos on August 29, 2021, for the week-long adjudication process. The AFRIMA Jury’s responsibility involves screening, categorizing, assessing, grading, and selecting the nominees into the 40 different regional and continental awarding categories.
After this process is concluded, the 2021 Nominees’ List would be unveiled during a World Media Conference in the second week of September 2021, while public voting will follow immediately.
All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA, in partnership with the African Union Commission, AUC, is the ultimate recognition of African music globally.
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