The Metro FM Music Awards (MMAs) will return in 2023 and will once again be presented in Mbombela on April 29. This announcement was made by the country’s largest broadcaster, SABC, and the Mpumalanga Department of Culture, Sports and Recreation (DCSR). On Wednesday, January 18, the announcement was made in the City of Mbombela. It is pretty exciting that the awards will be held in Mbombela, The SABC radio group executive Nada Wotshela stated tha this will spark interest by spotting potential and encouraging development.
The cats out of the bag, the METRO FM Music awards are back and better than ever!!!
Submissions open at midnight on 19 January 2023 on https://t.co/LWzyWbsZFY
Watch the live broadcast on @Official_SABC1 @SABCPortal Saturday 29 April 2023 #MMA23 pic.twitter.com/wyn7w5bbhe
— METROFM SABC (@METROFMSA) January 18, 2023
“This event has grown to be embraced by the industry and surely has made an indelible mark, hence the demand remained high even at the time of its short break. MMAs are successful because of the key strategic partnerships with various stakeholders and this is not something we take for granted,” Wotshela said.
The head of the department for DCSR, Godfrey Ntombela, stated that the MMAs will positively impact the province’s tourism sector. “We strongly believe this event will reignite tourism and the fact that we are the host province again is an indication that Mpumalanga is the perfect destination for tourism and cultural activities,” Ntombela said.
Nominations are already being accepted, and the deadline is February 28. The awards will be given out in 20 categories, and only albums, singles, and recordings that were released between February 28 of the previous year and February 28 of this year will be eligible.
In 2000, the Metro FM Music Awards were first presented. At the height of the SAMAs’ popularity, they were regarded as being on par with an artist winning one of the renowned honors. The popular radio station would, nevertheless, present the music awards’ grand finale in 2017.
At the time, it was assumed that the station’s financial issues were the cause of the award ceremony’s cancellation. Although the information remained unconfirmed, it was thought that they will make a comeback in 2019 after a year off. They didn’t, though, and the nation dealt with the pandemic in the years that followed.
However, recently, the radio station had taken to its social media to tease a “big announcement.” The announcement was teased for Wednesday, 18 January 2023.
Ladies and gentlemen, mark your calendars for the 29th of April 2023 and get ready to rock! @METROFMSA is thrilled to unveil the comeback of the highly anticipated Metro FM Awards, celebrating the exceptional talent of South Africa's finest musicians. #metrofmawards #sundayworld pic.twitter.com/EoPgpSOVCc
— Sunday World News (@SundayWorldZA) January 18, 2023
The 17th Metro FM Awards will be a live awards event webcast on SABC+ and the Metro FM YouTube account, as well as televised on SABC1 (DStv 191).After the late Riky Rick slammed radio stations for their alleged lack of support for local musicians and claimed that South African record labels were “buying” trophies, the awards’ most recent presentation in Durban in 2017 was overshadowed by controversy and allegations of corruption.
During his acceptance speech for Best Hit Single, Riky Rick had his mic cut off when he said, “90 percent of the shit I hear on radio is garbage. So, if you’re a kid and you’re watching this right now, forget radio. If they don’t let you play on radio, you better go to the internet and let your songs pop on the internet”.
Shortly after this controversial rant, which came during his acceptance speech for Best Hit Single (“Sidlukotini”), Riky went on to Tweet a line from that very song: “If ni**az can pay for these f***ing awards then my ni*ga I don’t want them.”
Metro FM states that the 2023 awards ceremony is “intended to spark interest by finding talent and supporting development” and that the purpose of the awards is to recognize “excellence in the music industry.”
“We are excited to bring back one of the SABC’s biggest events that are loved by millions of our audiences. This event has grown to be embraced by the industry and surely has made an indelible mark, hence the demand for it remained high even at the time of its short break,” says Nada Wotshela, SABC radio boss.”We have held this event in different provinces, and we are delighted they have returned to Mpumalanga and are looking forward to an exhilarating event.”
ALSO READ :12th annual radio awards rewards broadcasters
