The South African Music Awards (often simply the SAMAs) are the
Recording Industry of South Africa's music industry awards, established in 1995. The ceremony is held annually, usually in late April or May, with the judging process starting in November of the previous year. The nominations are typically announced at the end of March. The winners receive a gold-plated statuette called a SAMA.
The show has mostly been held at the Super Bowl in
Sun City, with the exception of three years, and broadcast live on national broadcaster,
SABC. The ceremony features live performances as once-off collaborations by a selection of nominees.
Awards
As of the
26th SAMAs, in 2020, there are a total of thirty categories awarded. These
categories
Category, plural categories, may refer to:
Philosophy and general uses
*Categorization, categories in cognitive science, information science and generally
*Category of being
*Categories (Aristotle), ''Categories'' (Aristotle)
*Category (Kant)
...
change from year to year to accommodate changes in music styles and changes in popularity of already existing genres. These genres include
adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
,
Afrikaans
Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
,
classical,
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
,
faith
Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion".
Religious people often ...
,
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
,
Kwaito,
Maskandi,
pop,
rap
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
,
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
,
RnB
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...
,
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
,
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
and
traditional
A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
.
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).
As of the
27th South African Music Awards
The 27th Annual South African Music Awards were the 27th edition of the South African Music Awards. The award show was broadcast live on SABC 1 on July 31, 2021 and was held virtually due to the effects of COVID-19 lockdowns.
The nominees were a ...
, artists working in the
Gqom
Gqom () '(Igqomu) () is a genre of electronic dance music that emerged in the early 2010s from Durban, South Africa, pioneered largely by producer DJ Nathan_Medee, DJ Lag, Rudeboyz, Griffit Vigo, Mbreshcar SA and Citizen Boy. It was developed fr ...
and
Amapiano genres will be considered in separate categories.
Top five awards
These are the top five award categories of the SAMAs. They were first introduced at the ceremony in 1995, with exception of
Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to:
Awards
* ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia
* Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK
* Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US
* Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA
* Lati ...
that was introduced in 2007.
*
Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to:
Awards
* ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia
* Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK
* Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US
* Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA
* Lati ...
*
Best Newcomer of the Year
*
Best Female Artist of the Year
*
Best Male Artist of the Year
*
Best Duo or Group of the Year
Audience awards
The winners of the following SAMAs are not chosen by a panel of judges:
* Record of the Year: Determined by a public vote, traditionally by
SMS
Short Message/Messaging Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile devices exchange short text ...
Mobile download awards
Eligibility and entry
As per the committee guidelines, only citizens and permanent residents of South Africa are eligible for a nomination.
Adjudication process
At the beginning of the adjudication process a Supervisory Committee is set up, it consists of two members from each of five "super genre" categories, which are Global Charts, Urban, Traditional, Technical and Jazz or Classical. This committee oversees the entire SAMA ceremony production process, along with the Steering, General Rules, and Vetting Committees. These committees are composed of unpaid volunteers from record companies and industry stakeholders. The judges are drawn from a wide spectrum to include journalists, critics, musicians, producers, and academics. There are five judges per genre category, based on the judge’s field of expertise.
The judge’s anonymity is protected by the Steering committee, who ensure the judge’s do not influence each other. The entire adjudication process takes place between September and February, with the nominees announced in March.
Phase one
The first phase takes place between late-September and December. The Steering Committee first determine the award categories, rules, and judging criteria for the entries. A panel of judges is elected and a call for entries takes place in November. The entries are vetted to comply with the committee rules, and genre guidelines.
Phase two
In this genre category phase, the judges receive a copy of the entries (either an album and DVD) by the end of December. The entries are scored against the criteria set by the Steering Committee. The score cards are submitted online, along with recommendations for the Top Five category nominees. The Top Five categories are nominated from the same pool of entries. An electronic judging system calculates the results, which are then audited by an independent firm at the end of January.
Phase three
This final phase of adjudication evaluates the Top Five categories. One judge from each genre category is selected to be part of the first round of voting. These judges select their top three entries, in their respective genres, taking into account the recommendations from other judges. The independent auditing firm ensures that a finalist in the Top Five has qualified for a nomination in their respective genre. Once the auditors have confirmed the Top Five finalist list, the last round of voting begins. All the judges participate in this round to determine the winners of each Top Five categories.
Ceremonies
The first awards ceremony was in 1995, there have been 27 editions to date.
Notable moments
Arthur Mafokate on-stage defiance (1995)
At the
1st South African Music Awards
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
,
kwaito artist
Arthur Mafokate
Arthur Mafokate (born 10 July 1972) is a South African kwaito musician and producer. In 1994, he released his debut album titled ''Windy Windy'' with the hit track "Amagents Ayaphanda”.
Life and career Early life
Arthur Mafokate was born on ...
performed a simulation of anal sex on a dancer. This was done as an act of defiance to the organisers, as he felt there was a need for a Kwaito Award. The following year the organiser introduced the award category.
Funky national anthem (1997)
It had been three years since the
first democratic elections in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
and a new
national anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...
had been introduced at the beginning of the 1997. At the
3rd South African Music Awards, popular kwaito-group
Boom Shaka
Boom Shaka was a pioneering South African kwaito music group consisting of Junior Sokhela, Lebo Mathosa, Theo Nhlengethwa and Thembi Seete. They released their first single "It's About Time" in 1993, and subsequently released their debut L ...
decided to re-create the anthem in a "funky" on-stage performance, that later caused a "public blacklash".
Brenda Fassie demanding her award (2001)
Towards the end of the five-hour-long
7th South African Music Awards,
Brenda Fassie accused a prominent journalist of being a
homosexual
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
- using the derogatory slang word
moffie
''Moffie'' is a 2019 biographical war romantic drama film co-written and directed by Oliver Hermanus. Based on the autobiographical novel of the same name by André Carl van der Merwe, the film depicts mandatory conscription into the notorious ...
. She went on to further accuse him of destroying her with the articles he published. At an after-party, she was seen fighting with
Mandoza
Mduduzi Edmund Tshabalala (17 January 1978 – 18 September 2016), also known as Mandoza, was a South African kwaito recording artist. He was known for his contributions to the Kwaito genre and his numerous hit singles, including "Nkalakatha", ...
and demanding that he hand over his award as it was "her award".
First virtual reality live broadcast (2016)
The
SAMA22 was the first awards show to be broadcast live in its entirety in 360° video, with
virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...
made possible by Unreal Industries.
See also
*
List of South African Music Award categories
South African Music Awards (SAMAs) are awarded in a series of categories, each of which isolate a specific contribution to music. The standard awards list nominees in each category from which a winner is selected. SAMA categories have been added ...
*
Metro FM Music Awards The 15th installment of the annual Metro FM Music Awards is an award ceremony that celebrates excellence in the South African music industry by honouring musicians who did exceedingly well in their field throughout 2015. The show first aired on SABC ...
References
External links
South African Music Awards website
{{Music awards
Awards established in 1995
African music awards
Entertainment events in South Africa