The top names in music gathered at the Eko Convention Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, on Sunday night as The Headies Awards returned to Nigeria after two consecutive years in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Themed “Back to Base” and “Apologetically African,” the 17th edition celebrated excellence in African music for works released between April 1, 2023, and July 31, 2024.
This year’s ceremony introduced two new categories — Soundtrack of the Year and Best Performer (Live) — expanding the scope of recognition.
However, the event was marred by poor time management and technical glitches, leading to an abrupt end before winners in several major categories could be announced.
As of 3:32 am WAT, winners for categories like Best R&B Single, Best Collaboration, Lyricist on the Roll, Best Rap Album, Best Inspirational Single, and regional artiste awards had not yet been announced.
Despite the hiccups, several stars still shone brightly. Funke Akindele’s record-breaking movie, A Tribe Called Judah, won the newly introduced Soundtrack of the Year award.
Here’s the full list of announced winners:
Major Categories
- Best Recording of the Year:
Tems – Burning — Winner - Best Vocal Performance (Male):
Lojay – Billions — Winner - Best Vocal Performance (Female):
Liya – I’m Done — Winner - Artiste of the Year:
Winner not announced before ceremony ended. - Next Rated Award:
Odumodublvck — Winner - Rookie of the Year:
Zerry DL — Winner - Album of the Year:
Winner not announced before ceremony ended. - Song of the Year:
Asake – Lonely at the Top — Winner - Songwriter of the Year:
Chimamanda Pearl Chukwuma – Vision (Qing Madi) — Winner - Best Collaboration:
Winner not announced before ceremony ended. - Music Video of the Year:
Director Pink – Egwu — Winner - Best Street-Hop Artiste:
Mohbad – Ask About Me — Winner - Best R&B Single:
Winner not announced before ceremony ended. - Afrobeats Single of the Year:
Flavour – Big Baller — Winner - Afrobeats Album of the Year:
Rema – HEIS — Winner - Best Rap Single:
Shallipopi & Odumodublvck – Cast — Winner - Best Rap Album:
Winner not announced before ceremony ended. - Producer of the Year:
London – Ozeba (Rema) — Winner - Digital Artiste of the Year:
Davido — Winner - Lyricist on the Roll:
Winner not announced before ceremony ended. - Best Performer (Live):
Winner not announced before ceremony ended. - Viewers’ Choice:
Chike ft. Mohbad – Egwu — Winner - Soundtrack of the Year:
A Tribe Called Judah – Abbey Wonder & TCJ — Winner - Best Inspirational Single:
Winner not announced before ceremony ended.
Regional Categories
- Best Southern African Artiste of the Year:
Winner not announced before ceremony ended. - Best North African Artiste of the Year:
Winner not announced before ceremony ended. - Best East African Artiste of the Year:
Juma Jux (Tanzania) — Winner - Best West African Artiste of the Year:
Winner not announced before ceremony ended. - Best Central African Artiste of the Year:
Innoss’B (DRC) — Winner
Although the 17th Headies Awards struggled with a chaotic ending, it still managed to honour some of Africa’s brightest stars, reaffirming the continent’s booming influence on global music.
