Jabidii tops Groove Awards nominee list, again
For the second year running, urban gospel artiste, Jabidii, has topped the nominee list for the 14th edition of the annual Groove Awards, which was unveiled on Wednesday at the Kenya National Theatre in Nairobi.
Jabidii, who received seven nominations last year, has bettered that record with 11 nominations this time round, including the highly contested Artist of the Year category, Collabo of the Year and Song of the Year.
The Odi Dance hit maker has also been nominated for the Teens Choice Song of the Year (in which he received 2 nominations), Reggae/Ragga Song of the Year, Breakthrough Artist of the year, Collabo of the Year and Dance style/song of the Year – a category that saw him receive 3 nominations.
Last year, Jabidii received 7 nominations of which he bagged five awards, namely Song of the Year, Collabo of the Year, Most Downloaded Skiza tune, Dance Song of the Year and Hype man/MC of the Year.
He was followed by Timeless Noel and Moji Short Babaa who received 6 nominations each.
NEW CATEGORIES
Meanwhile, this year’s event has been divided into 23 categories, with the nominees list including new entrants into some of the most hotly contested categories.
New categories have also been introduced following continuous insights and changing industry dynamics.
There is also a split of the Breakthrough Artists Category to accommodate both the Male and Female artists separately and the introduction of new categories; – Online/Digital Personality of the Year, Young Groover of the Year and the Diaspora Artists of the Year category respectively.
Groove panel Chairman Charles Kairu said the announcement of the nominees followed a rigorous process of reviewing 154,371 submissions that the public put in.
ONLINE VOTING
“Having refreshed the nominations process last year to include the public in the process for greater ownership and inclusion, the feedback has been very positive. 14 years on and we are excited and grateful to be unveiling the list of contenders for the 14th edition,” Kairu said.
The event organizers have also revealed that the theme of this year’s awards show is “Better Together” with a focus on the message of unity in building better relationships, synergies and societies.
Online voting is now open on www.grooveawards.co.ke. SMS voting will start on Wednesday 15th May 2019 to compliment online voting. The voting will run until midnight 31st May 2019.
This year’s winners will be announced on June 1, 2019 at the Gala Awards ceremony, to be held in Nairobi.
A winner’s concert is slated shortly after the awards ceremony on June 8, 2019 in Mombasa where the winners meet their fans to celebrate with them.