16th Headies Awards Unveils Nominations List

On Wednesday, the Headies, Nigeria’s renowned music award show, unveiled the highly anticipated nominations list for its 16th edition. Founded by Hip Hop World Magazine in 2006, the Headies is one of the biggest music accolades in Nigeria, recognizing achievements both domestically and across Africa.

The upcoming awards ceremony will acknowledge works released between January 2022 and March 2023. Leading the pack with an impressive ten nominations is Burna Boy, a prominent Nigerian artist. Following closely are Asake with nine nominations and Pheelz and Bnxn with six nominations each. Surprisingly, last year’s standout winner, Wizkid, is absent from this year’s list. Burna boy, notably, competes for the coveted Album of the Year award against formidable contenders such as Davido, Rema, Asake, Omah Lay, and Victony.

The nominations encompass a diverse array of both local and international artists, honoring their remarkable contributions to the music scene over the past year. Moreover, the 2023 edition of the Headies Awards will also acknowledge international artists who have made significant strides in the Nigerian music industry. The nominees for the esteemed International Artiste of the Year category include renowned names like Drake, Future, Selena Gomez, Don Toliver, and Ed Sheeran.

The complete nominations list for the 16th Headies Awards is provided below, showcasing the range of talent and achievement recognized by this prestigious music event:

Best Recording of the Year

• “Alone” by Burna Boy
• “Soweto” by Victony and Tempoe
• “I’m a Mess” by Omah Lay
• “Ku Lo Sa” by Oxlade
• “Stand Strong” by Davido
• “No Woman, No Cry” by Tems

Producer of the Year

• Magicstickz (Sungba Remix)
• Pheelz (Electricity)
• Andrevibez & London (Calm Down)
• Tempoe (Soweto)
• Kel-P (Kpe Paso)
• Rexxie (Abracadabra)

Songwriter of the Year

• “Loyal” by Simi
• “I’m a Mess” by Omah Lay
• “Lift Me Up” by Tems
• “Alone” by Burna Boy
• “In My Mind” by BNXN fka Buju
• “Earth Song” by Wizard Chan

Best R&B Single

• “For My Hand” by Bruna Boy ft. ED Sheeran
• “Mmadu” by CKay
• “Just 4 u” by Dami Oniru
• “Red Wine” By Preye
• “Hard to Find” by Chike ft. Flavour
• “Loyal” by Simi ft. Fave

Best Rap Single

• “Hustle” by Reminisce ft. BNXN
• “Big Energy” by Ladi Poe
• “Back in Uni” by Blaq Bonez
• “Bando Diaries” by Psycho YP ft. Odumodublvck
• “Declan Rice” by Odumodublvck
• “My Bro” by Jeriq the Hussla ft. Phyno

Best Vocal Performance (Female)

• “Loyal” – Simi
• “In Between” – Waje
• “Memories” – Niniola
• “Adua Remix” – Liya
• “Red Wine” – Preye Itams
• “Just 4 U” – Dami Oniru

Best Vocal Performance (Male)

• “Ku Lo Sa” – Oxlade
• “My Only Baby” – Ric Hassani
• “Love Don’t Cost a Dime” – Magixx
• “Spell Remix” – Chike
• “Reckless” – Praiz
• “Kpe Paso” – Wande Coal

Best Alternative Song

• “Earth Song” by Wizard Chan
• “Final Champion” by Cruel Santino
• “The Traveller” by Basketmouth and The Cavemen
• “In a Loop” By BOJ ft. Mellissa
• “Game Changer” by Flavour
• “Tinko Tinko” by Obongjayar

Best Music Video

• “Back in Uni” by Blaq Bonez Perliks
• “PBUY” by TG Omori
• “Spell (Remix)” by Director Pink
• “Common Person” by Director K
• “Bandana” by TG Omori
• “Calm Down (Remix)” by Director K

Best Collaboration

• “Sungba Remix” by Asake ft. Burna Boy
• “Gwagwalada” by Bnxn ft. Kizz Daniel & Seyi Vibez
• “Finesse” by Pheelz ft. Bnxn
• “Who’s Your Guy Remix” by Spyro ft. Tiwa Savage
• “Electricity” by Pheelz ft. Davido
• “Kpe Paso” by Wande Coal ft. Olamide

Best Street-Hop Artist

• Rexxie ft. Naira Marley & Skiibii – “Abracadabra”
• Seyi Vibez – “Chance”
• Asake – “Joha”
• Zlatan ft. Young Jonn – “Astalavista”
• Poco Lee & Hotkid – “Otilo”
• Mohbad – “Peace”

Digital Artist of the Year

• Burna Boy
• Ayra Starr
• Rema
• Omah Lay
• Kizz Daniel
• Asake

International Artist of the Year

• Drake
• Future
• Selena Gomez
• Don Toliver
• Ed Sheeran

Afrobeats Single of the Year

• “Last Last” by Burna Boy
• “Rush” by Ayra Starr
• “Buga” by Kizz Daniel & Tekno
• “Finesse” by Pheelz ft. Bnxn
• “Who’s Your Guy?” by Spyro
• “Asiwaju” by Ruger

Headies’ Viewers’ Choice

• Ruger – “Asiwaju”
• Victony & Tempoe – “Soweto”
• Fireboy DML & Asake – “Bandana”
• Ayra Star – “Rush”
• Asake – “Terminator”
• Mavins – “Overloading”
• Crayon – “Ijo (Laba Laba)”
• Oxlade – “Ku Lo Sa”
• Kizz Daniel & Tekno – “Buga”
• Pheelz & Davido – “Electricity”

Best West African Artist of the Year

• Gyakie (Ghana)
• Black Sherif (Ghana)
• The Therapist (Liberia)
• Camidoh (Ghana)

Best East African Artist of the Year

• Zuchu
• Diamond Platinumz
• Rayvanny
• Eddy Kenzo
• Hewan Gebreworld

Best North African Artist of the Year

• Marwa Loud (Morocco)
• Wegz (Egypt)
• El Grande Toto ( Morocco)
• Soolking ( Algeria)

Best Southern African Artist of the Year

• AKA (South Africa)
• Nasty C ( South Africa)
• Costa Titch (South Africa)
• Uncle Waffles (South Africa)
• Focalistic (South Africa)
• DJ Tarico (Mozambique)

Best Central African Artist of the Year

• Fally Ipupa (DRC)
  Gaz Mawete (DRC)
  Matias Damasio (Angola)
  Emma’a ( Gabon)
  Libianca (Cameroon)

African Artist of the Year

• Rema (Nigeria)
• Burna Boy (Nigeria)
• Marwa Loud (Morocco)
• Black Sherif (Ghana)
• Diamond Platnumz (Tanzania)

Best R&B Album

• Home by Johnny Drille
• The Brother’s Keeper by Chike
• Reckless by Praiz
• Waje 2.0 by Waje
• Matter of Time by Dami Oniru
• To Be Honest by Simi

Best Alternative Album

• Horoscopes by Basketmouth
• Gbagada Express by BOJ
• Some Nights I Dream Of Doors by Obongjayar
• Subaru Boys: Final Heaven by Cruel Santino
• Heart Of The Heavenly Undeniable by Omadina
• Native World by Native Sound System

Best Rap Album

• Fly Talk Only by Payper Corleone
• Palmwine Music Vol 3 by Show Dem Camp
• Young Preacher by Blaqbonez
• YP SZN 3 by Psycho YP
• Teslim: The Energy Still Lives In Me by Vector
• Billion Dollar Dream by Jeriq

Lyricist on the Roll

• Ladipoe
• Vector
• Payper Corleone
• Alpha Ojini
• A-Q
• TEC (SDC)

Best Inspirational Single

• “Stand Strong” by Davido ft. Sunday Service Choir
• “Jireh (My Provider)” by Limoblaze, Lecrae & Happi Music
• “This Year” by Victor Thompson & Ehis D’ Greatest
• “Eze Ebube” by Neon Adejo
• “Tobechukwu” by Nathaniel Bassey & Mercy Chinwo
• “I Get Backing” by Victoria Orenze

Album of the Year

• Love, Damini by Burna Boy
• Mr. Money With The Vibe by Asake
• Rave & Roses by Rema
• Boy Alone by Omah Lay
• Outlaw by Victony
• Timeless by Davido

Song of the Year

• “Calm Down” by Rema
• “Last Last” by Burna Boy
• “Ku Lo Sa” by Oxlade
• “Buga” by Kizz Daniel & Tekno
• “Finesse” by Pheelz ft. Bnxn
• “Sungba Remix” by Asake ft. Burna Boy

Best Female Artist

• Tems
• Simi
• Ayra Starr
• Tiwa Savage

Best Male Artist

• Asake
• Rema
• Kizz Daniel
• Ruger
• Omah Lay
• Burna Boy

Next Rated

• Young Jonn
• Seyi Vibez
• Asake
• Victony
• Spyro

International Artist Recognition

• Sean ‘Love’ Combs

Hall of Fame

• Youssou N’Dour

Special Recognition

• Sound Sultan

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