The sun rose in Mpumalanga this past weekend and its rays were spotlights as roads led to the Metro FM awards ceremony in Mbombela.
It was nothing short of showbiz.
Black was back in all its shapes and forms. The black carpet was graced with a wide range of designs, sequels and stitches that were preparing to take to the stage.
Dressed in elegant black-tie as well as regal, African traditional looks, the eminently taloned Lerato Kganyago and Katlego Maboe, hosted the awards ceremony with pizzazz.
Katlego has shared a sweet message of thanks to his followers.
The Metros boasted performances from the big names in the music industry.
In between these performances, awards were scooped and while some raised eyebrows, others received standing ovations.
Here are the big wins from the night of black extravaganza.
AKA
The most memorable one from the night of victory was AKA taking home four awards. It was a megacy night indeed and he was probably smiling from the heavens above. Nothing tops the special moment of having his daughter, Kairo walking up that stage each time to receive the fruits of his father’s hard work alongside AKA’s parents. Just like their son would do it, Lynne and Tony Forbes wore the South African flag on their shoulders as they celebrated the wins.
They took home awards for best male artist, best hip-hop artist, artist of the year and best collaboration song with his hit song Lemonade with Nasty C. Even in his death, his wins are endless as his last album Mass Country was recently certified platinum.
Betusile Mcinga
A lot of people did not see this one coming. The biggest win at any award ceremony is the song of the year and this time around, a gospel track topped even the song with the highest ratings. While K.O’s Sete made the rounds on radio airwaves and streaming platforms, Betusile Mcinga’s Ngena Noah was sang by the young and the old, the sober and the drunk, the poor and the rich. For his song, Betusile was booked to perform even at taverns.
The magnitude of its reach was proven beyond reasonable doubt when Betusile took to the stage and everyone was on their feet.
Read More | Gospel singer Bethusile wowed as ‘Wababiza bonk’ uNoah’ sails through to MetroFM song of the year nom
Deep London and Boohle
It has taken many to the streets to collect dust on their shoes as they participate in their song’s TikTok dance challenge for months on end. While the fun was one for the books, so was their first win at the Metros. Deep London and Boohle’s Hamba wena song scooped two awards – best viral challenge and best amapiano song and their excitement was uncontained.
DJ Tira
Another artist who took home two awards was Dj Tira with his Sikilidi song featuring General C’Mamane, Dladla Mshunqisi, Sizwe Mdlalose, Ms Mamelow and Miss Vee. The renowned Dj and Afrotainment owner set the mood with his opening act at the ceremony. One would say that he knew that he was there to win and not play.
If there is one person who remains consistent with Gqom even as the genre has been dethroned by Amapiano, it has to be Dj Tira and so winning the best kwaito/gqom award was no surprise. As usual, the Durbanite squad excitedly received this award as well as the one for best music video.
Inkabi Nation
Durbanite wins did not end with Dj Tira though. The Inkabi nation made their presence felt when they also scooped the best duo or group award. It wouldn’t have made sense to not have them sign the award register. While Big Zulu gushes over this win, he prepares for another this coming week with the release of his album with Sjava, Ukhamba, on Friday, May 12, 2023.
So far, their single uMbayimbayi from the album has taken the airwaves, streaming platforms and even TikTok by storm.
The Inkabi nation also includes Mduduzi Ncube, Lwah Ndlunkulu, Xowla and Siya Ntuli.
Read More | Big Zulu and Sjava offer exclusive sneak peek into long-awaited collaboration dropping on 23 May
Makhadzi
She had a rough week preceding the awards ceremony as she officially announced her exit from record label company Open Mic productions.
Initially, many thought that the exit was a peaceful one but Makhadzi’s tweets proved otherwise with time. She claims to not have received a cent from her album and the record label insists on renewing her contract without considering her say in the matter.
As a result of her exit, a Youtube video of her Niazwifha song was removed from the streaming platform, losing about 130 000 views.
Throughout the scandal, she believes she is being used as a slave by the record label but even as is, her hard work spoke the loudest at the Metros. She went hope with a bit of sunshine as she ascended the best female artist throne.
