The organisers of The Headies Awards have announced the list of the 2022 nominated acts with newcomers like Portable, Fave and Arya Star appearing on the list.
New categories have been introduced and they include Music Executive of the Year; Best Afrobeat Pop Single (Nigeria); Best Afrobeat Pop Album (Nigeria); Best African Collaboration; Best International Collaboration; African Artiste of the Year; and International Artiste of the Year.
See the full categories and nominations below:
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
A voting category for the rookie of the year who has had a successful year musically, with the absence of an album in the year under review.
- AV
FAVE
MAGIXX
PORTABLE
UGOCCIE
BEST RECORDING OF THE YEAR
A non-voting category for the best recording (that meets the judges’ requirements of excellence; songwriting, production, rendition) by an artist or group in the year under review.
- “CELEBRATE ME” – PATORANKING
- “ESSENCE” – WIZKID feat. TEMS
- “JOY” – FALANA
- “LOVING IS HARDER” – JOHNNY DRILLE
- “MEJI MEJI” – BRYMO
- “SOMEBODY’S SON” – TIWA SAVAGE feat. BRANDY
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
An individual responsible for producing the most acclaimed song or album in the year under review.
- BEATS BY JAYY – “GOLDEN” (A-Q)
- BLAISE BEATZ – “SINNER” (ADEKUNLE GOLD FEAT. LUCKY DAYE)
- NIPHKEYS – “FEEL GOOD” (MOHBAD)
- P PRIIME – “OZUMBA MBADIWE” (REEKADO BANKS)
- PHEELZ – “HIGH” (ADEKUNLE GOLD FEAT. DAVIDO)
- SARZ – “MONALISA” (LOJAY & SARZ)
BEST R&B SINGLE
A category for the best r&b single in the year under review (by a single individual or group).
- “BABY RIDDIM” – FAVE
- “BEGGIE BEGGIE” – AYRA STARR feat. CKAY
- “ESSENCE” – WIZKID feat. TEMS
- “RUNNING (TO YOU)” – CHIKE feat. SIMI
- “PROMISE” – NINIOLA
- “SINNER” – ADEKUNLE GOLD feat. LUCK DAYE
SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
A non-voting category for the writer of a song (that meets the judges’ requirements of excellence, composition, arrangement, rendition) in the year under review.
- ADEKUNLE GOLD – “SINNER”
- AJEBO HUSTLERS – “LOYALTY”
- BRYMO – “MEJI MEJI”
- FALANA – “JOY”
- FIREBOY DML – “PERU”
- OMAH LAY – “UNDERSTAND”
BEST RAP SINGLE
A voting category for a single (released on-air) recording of a rap song.
- “BREATHE” – A-Q feat. CHIKE
- “CROWN OF CLAY” – VECTOR & MI ABAGA feat. PHEELZ
- “EARLY MOMO” – VECTOR feat. GOODGIRL LA
- “FEELING” – LADIPOE feat. BNXN
- “TYCOON” – SHOW DEM CAMP feat. REMINISCE & MOJO
- “LOADING” – OLAMIDE feat. BAD BOY TIMZ
BEST ‘ALTERNATIVE’ SONG
A voting category for the artiste whose songs reflect any form or style of music which falls outside the mainstream of recent or past popular musical trends.
- “DOINGS” – FLAVOUR
- “FREE YOUR MIND” – MADE KUTI
- “GONTO” – IBEJII
- “HUSTLE” – BASKETMOUTH, THE CAVEMEN, BEZ, DICE AILES
- “MEJI MEJI” – BRYMO
- “SELENSE” – THE CAVEMEN
BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE (FEMALE)
A non-voting category for the single female artiste with the most outstanding vocal performances on a single song or album.
- AYRA STARR – “TOXIC”
- LIYA – “ALARI”
- NINIOLA – “6TH HEAVEN”
- SIMI – “RUNNING (TO YOU)”
- TEMS – “ESSENCE”
- WAJE – “LAST TIME”
BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE (MALE)
A non-voting category for the single male artiste with the most outstanding vocal performance on a single song or album.
- BRYMO – “MEJI MEJI”
- JOHNNY DRILLE – “LOVING IS HARDER”
- OXLADE – “OJUJU”
- RIC HASSANI – “WHEN I’M GONE”
- TAY IWAR – “PEAKING”
BEST MUSIC VIDEO
A voting category for the best conceptualist, best directed and most exciting video in the year under review. This award goes to the video director.
- “CHAMPION” – (FIREBOY DML feat. D SMOKE) DIRECTED BY TG OMORI
- “GINGER” – (WIZKID feat. BURNA BOY) DIRECTED BY MEJI ALABI
- “ROJU” – (CHIKE) DIRECTED BY PINK
- “RAIN” – (YEMI ALADE feat. MZANSI YOUTH CHOIR) DIRECTED BY OVIE ETSEYATSE
- “BLING” – (BLAQBONEZ feat. AMAARAE & BNXN) DIRECTED BY TG OMORI
- “RUNNING” – (LADIPOE feat. FIREBOY DML) DIRECTED BY DIRECTOR K
BEST COLLABORATION
A voting category for the best r&b, pop or hip-hop collaborative track (including cameos).
- “BEGGIE BEGGIE” – AYRA STARR feat. CKAY
- “BLING” – BLAQBONEZ feat. AMAARAE & BNXN
- “EARLY MOMO” – VECTOR feat. GOODGIRL LA
- “ESSENCE” – WIZKID feat. TEMS
- “FEELING” – LADIPOE feat. BNXN
- “RUNNING (TO YOU)” – CHIKE feat. SIMI
- BELLA SHMURDA – “CASH APP” feat. ZLATAN & LINCOlN
- REXXIE & MOHBAD – “KPK”
- MOHBAD – “FEEL GOOD”
- NAIRA MARLEY – “KOLEYEWON”
- NEKTUNEZ & GOYA MENOR – “AMENO AMAPIANO (REMIX)”
- POCO LEE, PORTABLE & OLAMIDE – “ZAZOO ZEHH”
BEST AFROBEATS SINGLE OF THE YEAR
A voting category for the best Afrobeats single in year under review (by single individual or group).
- “BLOODY SAMARITAN” – AYRA STARR
- “BOUNCE” – RUGER
- “HIGH” – ADEKUNLE GOLD feat. DAVIDO
- “MONALISA” – LOJAY & SARZ
- “OZUMBA MBADIWE” – REEKADO BANKS
- “PERU” – FIREBOY DML
HEADIES’ VIEWER’S CHOICE
A voting category to award the fan’s favourite artiste with the most digital tractions (downloads, views, streams) in the year under review.
- AYRA STARR – “BLOODY SAMARITAN”
- FIREBOY – “PERU”
- JOEBOY – “SIP”
- LOJAY & SARZ – “MONALISA”
- NEKTUNEZ & GOYA MENOR – “AMENO AMAPIANO (REMIX)”
- OLAMIDE feat. OMAH LAY – “INFINITY”
- REMA – “SOUNDGASM”
- WIZKID feat. TEMS – “ESSENCE”
BEST WEST AFRICAN ARTISTE OF THE YEAR
A voting award category for an individual African artiste or group (of Western African Descent) with the most outstanding achievement and impact across Africa in the year under review.
- AMAARAE (GHANA)
- ANGELIQUE KIDJO (BENIN)
- AYA NAKAMURA (MALI)
- GYAKIE (GHANA)
- KIDI (GHANA)
- NELSON FREITAS (CAPE VERDE)
BEST EAST AFRICAN ARTISTE OF THE YEAR
A voting award category for an individual African artiste or group (of Eastern African Descent) with the most outstanding achievement and impact across Africa in the year under review.
- DIAMOND PLATINUMZ (TANZANIA)
- EDDY KENZO (UGANDA)
- HARMONIZE (TANZANIA)
- MEDDY (RWANDA)
- NIKITA KERING (KENYA)
- ZUCHU (TANZANIA)
BEST NORTH AFRICAN ARTISTE OF THE YEAR
A voting award category for an individual African artiste or group (of Northern African Descent) with the most outstanding achievement and impact across Africa in the year under review.
- EMEL MATHLOUTHI (TUNISIA)
- ELGRANDETOTO (MOROCCO)
- LATIFA (TUNISIA)
- MANAL (MOROCCO)
- MUHAMAD RAMADAN (EGYPT)
- SOOLKING (ALGERIA)