Culture

Best Moments From The 16th Headies Award Show 2023

The renowned Headies is back in town, or should we say out of town…

• written by Eavesdroppr's
• 4 min read
• 04 Sep, 2023

The Headies Award is known for being one of the biggest award shows in Africa, it is a big moment to celebrate the immense talent in the Nigerian and African music industry.

The award ceremony took place on September 3rd in Atlanta, Georgia, for the second time in a row. Let’s just say, fans were not impressed with their choice in venues. Nonetheless, The Headies Awards looks like it’s gone off without a hitch in sight.

The Headies Award is always known for sparkling moments that are totally unforgettable, and sometimes, downright hilarious. The Headies Award 2023 is no stranger to this, this year’s event has sparked controversy, it has created a lot of viral moments, it has started conversations, and most importantly, it has brought pure vibes. 

Here are some of our favorite moments from the event, just in case you missed it. 

The Hosts 

The hosts of The Headies Award 2023, Osas Ighodaro and Terrence J were at the center of it all, as the show took center stage in Atlanta, Georgia. 

Our very own, multi-talented award winning actress, producer, host, and all round humanitarian, stunned effortlessly as she hosted the awards ceremony alongside American Actor and renowned TV Host, Terrence J. Together they made magic happen at the 16th Headies Awards.

Our favorite Osas moment has to be when came back on stage in her second look, after Seyi Vibez was crowned the winner for the Best Street-Hop Artiste of the Year. The crowd went a bit wild, and i’m fits of giggles. Osas just had to ask, “What’s the commotion about?” It was hilarious, endearing, and straight up good vibes. 

The Performances 

So many stars, so many great performances. The cool thing about award events like this is that the audience gets to enjoy a mini-concert of some sorts. The event didn’t carry last with its array of performers, it featured performances by Seyi Vibez, Young John, Black Sheriff, Blaqbonez, Spyro, Odumodublavk, Kcee, Wande Coal, and Asake. Their performances were outstanding, and some, nostalgic. 

The Speeches

The one speech that stood out most and went the most viral has to be Rena’s speech. Rema’s acceptance speeches for Best Male Artiste, Digital Artiste of the Year, and African Artiste of the Year. The speech had a whole moment of its own as he pledged his “support to our institutions.” He stated, “Be it AfroRave or Afro this, Afro that, las las, we go jam for Afrobeats Awards.”

The Wins 

There were so many great nominations this year, and a whole lot of wins, all we can say is that everyone's a winner in their own right.  Rema won best male artist, digital artiste of the year and African artiste of the year. In addition, Selena Gomez, who collaborated with Rema on the global hit “Calm Down,” won International Artiste of the Year, while Director K, who directed the music video for the “Calm Down” remix, won best music video. Burna Boy took Afrobeats single of the year and song of the year, both for “Last Last” as well as best R&B single for “For My Hand,” featuring Ed Sheeran. There were a lot of wins at The Headies 2023, and we're totally here for it.

The Headies Award 2023 saw a lot of great talent winning across various boards, you could check out the full list of winners at The 16th Headies Award here.

The Special Recognition 

This was a particularly somber but memorable moment at The Headies Award 2023. The late Sound Sultan, a Nigerian entertainment legend, was honored with a special recognition award for his legendary contribution to the world of music and entertainment in Nigeria, and the world at large. 

The Headies Award 2023 will go down in history for doing what it does best, celebrating the world of talent that can be found in Nigeria and in Africa, and we can’t wait to see what next year’s Headies Award holds in store for all of us.