Sound City convinced fun lovers that it is not too early in the year to enjoy good music when it held its annual Most Valuable Player Awards Festival on Friday. At the Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos, it unleashed top singers such as Tiwa Savage, Scales, Yemi Alade, M. I., Sheyi Shay and Small Doctor on the audience that kept asking for more.
The awards introduced in 2016 by Consolidated Media Associates, owners of Soundcity Africa (Television, Radio and Digital), to replace the Soundcity Music Video Awards rested in 2010, was inspiringly executed.
Davido was the biggest winner, with his ‘If’ fetching him the African Artiste of the Year, Song of the Year and Video of the Year.
While Maleek Berry took home the Best New Artiste and Best Pop, Olamide and Wizkid respectively got the Listeners Choice and Digital Artiste of the Year.
Other winners are Tiwa Savage (Best Female MVP), Cassper Nyovest (Best Hip Hop) and Diamond Platnumz (Best Male MVP).
A report on the event indicated, “While the huge turnout spoke volumes for the organiser’s reach, the massive hall, which was transformed to a showground of sorts, could not accommodate all. There was barely any unoccupied space in the ground floor of the hall. It was not different upstairs.
“Even the VIP section, which accommodated nominees and celebrities, was so packed that some attendees only had room to stand. The female protocol officials had a hard time persuading people to move away from blocking the view of those seated. But their pleas fell on deaf ears. It took the intervention of security personnel to convince them to either squat or leave. This respite was however short-lived. Once the guards left, they resumed their position. At this point, the female ushers gave up.”
“The SMVP Awards Festival was a very brilliant show. In fact, it has raised the bar for music award shows. It is also a big testimonial to the excellence and professionalism of the CMA helmsman, Tajudeen Adepetu. For five days, Adepetu and his team worked tirelessly at the venue to achieve the desired result. Carpenters, sound technicians, event planners, stage designers gathered at the site daily to transform the purlieu.
The report statement added, “The walls of the hallway leading to the main hall were covered with design of the nominees. Although there was a dedicated red carpet area right outside the convention centre, the floor of the hallway as well as the lobby leading to the events hall were draped in red. Inside, the auditorium was a continuum of glitz and glamour.
“The lighting and visual randomisation spread from the screen on stage to the ceiling and walls, creating a fascinating effect befitting of an event of such calibre. The aesthetically designed stage was T-shaped. This allowed winners of the event to easily waltz into the stage from their seats instead of going through the backstage. Only the performers, host, and award presenters made use of the main entry and exit on stage.
“No doubt, Adepetu threw everything into the ring to have a spectacular show. This was largely made possible by three major brands Guinness, United Bank of Africa and Coca-Cola, which threw their weight behind the ceremony.”