South African Music Awards


The South African Music Awards are the Recording Industry of South Africa's music industry awards, established in 1995. The ceremony is held in late-April or May every year, with the judging process starting in November of the previous year. The nominations are typically announced at the end of March. The winners receive a gold-plated statuette called a SAMA.
The show has mostly been held at the Super Bowl in Sun City, with the exception of three years, and broadcast live on national broadcaster, SABC. The ceremony features live performances as once-off collaborations by a selection of nominees.

Awards

As of the 21st SAMAs, in 2015, there are a total of thirty-six categories awarded. These categories change from year to year to accommodate changes in music styles and changes in popularity of already existing genres. These generes include Adult Contemporary, Afrikaans, Classical, Dance, Faith, Jazz, Kwaito, Maskandi, Pop, Rap, Reggae, RnB, Rock, Soul and Traditional.
At times genres are grouped together into a single category based on their popularity amongst a certain demographic.

Top Five awards

These are the top five award categories of the SAMAs. They were first introduced at the ceremony in 1995, with exception of Album of the Year that was introduced in 2007.

Audience awards

The winners of the following SAMAs are not chosen by a panel of judges:

Eligibility and entry

As per the committee guidelines, only citizens and permanent residents of South Africa are eligible for a nomination.

Adjudication process

At the beginning of the adjudication process a Supervisory Committee is setup, It consists of two members from each of five “super genre” categories, which are Global Charts, Urban, Traditional, Technical and Jazz or Classical. This committee oversees the entire SAMA ceremony production process, along with the Steering, General Rules, and Vetting Committees. These committees are composed of unpaid volunteers from record companies and industry stakeholders. The judges are drawn from a wide spectrum to include journalists, critics, musicians, producers, and academics. There are five judges per genre category, based on the judge’s field of expertise. The judge’s anonymity is protected by the Steering committee, who ensure the judge’s do not influence each other. The entire adjudication process takes place between September and February, with the nominees announced in March.

Phase one

The first phase takes place between late-September and December. The Steering Committee first determine the award categories, rules, and judging criteria for the entries. A panel of judges is elected and a call for entries takes place in November. The entries are vetted to comply with the committee rules, and genre guidelines.

Phase two

In this genre category phase, the judges receive a copy of the entries by the end of December. The entries are scored against the criteria set by the Steering Committee. The score cards are submitted online, along with recommendations for the Top Five category nominees. The Top Five categories are nominated from the same pool of entries. An electronic judging system calculates the results, which are then audited by an independent firm at the end of January.

Phase three

This final phase of adjudication evaluates the Top Five categories. One judge from each genre category is selected to be part of the first round of voting. These judges select their top three entries, in their respective genres, taking into account the recommendations from other judges. The independent auditing firm ensures that a finalist in the Top Five has qualified for a nomination in their respective genre. Once the auditors have confirmed the Top Five finalist list, the last round of voting begins. All the judges participate in this round to determine the winners of each Top Five categories.

Ceremonies

The first awards ceremony was in 1995, there have been 21 editions to date.
CeremonyDateMost AwardsAlbum of the YearBest NewcomerBest Female ArtistBest Male ArtistBest Duo or GroupHostVenue
1st SAMArowspan=12 Soweto String QuartetBrenda FassieJabu Khanyilerowspan=2 Alberton City Hall
2nd SAMAQkumba ZooVicky SampsonLebo M.--
3rd SAMARevolutionSibongile KhumaloJohannes KerkorrelLadysmith Black Mambazo-
4th SAMAJimmy DludluYvonne Chaka ChakaVusi MahlaselaThe Usual-
5th SAMATaschéBrenda FassieRingo MadlingoziTKZee-
6th SAMAGloria BosmanBusi MhlongoJimmy DludluLadysmith Black MambazoMartin JonasSun City Super Bowl-
7th SAMASelaelo SelotaMiriam MakebaDon LakaBayete and Jabu KhanyileSandton Convention Centre-
8th SAMAErnie SmithJudith SephumaJimmy DludluBongo MaffinVusi Twala
Unathi Mankayi		Sun City Super Bowl-
9th SAMAMoses KhumaloSibongile KhumaloHugh Masekela
for album Time		MafikizoloSun City Super Bowl-
10th SAMAAdilahSwazi DlaminiThemba MkhizeMafikizoloUnathi Nkayi
Tshepo Maseko		Sun City Super Bowl-
11th SAMASimphiwe DanaThandiswa MazwaiThemba MkhizeRevolutionSun City Super Bowl-
12th SAMAJudith Sephuma BrickzJudith SephumaJimmy DludluBongo MaffinTumisho MashaSun City Super Bowl-
13th SAMASimphiwe Dana The One Love Movement On Bantu Biko StreetSiphokaziSimphiwe DanaVusi MahlaselaMafikizoloSun City Super BowlKabelo Mabalane
14th SAMAFreshlyground Ma' CheriTasha BaxterKaren ZoidHHPFreshlygroundSun City Super Bowl
15th SAMALira Soul In MindAndile MselekuLiraAbdullah IbrahimSoweto Gospel ChoirSun City Super BowlTrevor Noah
16th SAMAUndisputedTshepo MngomaLiraBlack CoffeeJaziel BrothersSun City Super BowlTrevor Noah
17th SAMAProfessor Fabrics Of The HeartLocnvilleThandiswa MazwaiProfessorLiquideepLoyiso BalaMontecasino
18th SAMAZahara LoliweZaharaZaharaAKAMi CasaSun City Super Bowl
19th SAMAKhuli Chana Lost in TimeToya DelazyKelly KhumaloKhuli ChanaFreshlygroundSun City Super Bowl
20th SAMAMafikizolo ReunitedNaima KayZaharaKabomoMafikizoloSun City Super Bowl
SAMA XXIBeatenberg The Hanging Gardens of BeatenbergCassper NyovestBucieAKABeatenbergHHPSun City Super Bowl
SAMA22Nathi Pieces of MeNathiZonkeNathiBig NuzSomizi Mhlongo
Thando Thabethe		Durban International Convention Centre
SAMA2327
May
2017		Kwesta AmaZuluAmanda BlackAmanda
Blacks		KwestaBlack
Motion		Somizi
Mhlongo
Tumi
Morake		Sun City Super Bowl
SAMA 242
June
2018		Mafikizolo Rose GoldShekhinahShekhinahPrince KaybeeMafikizoloSomizi Mhlongo
Dineo Ranaka
Mpho Popps		Sun City Super Bowl
SAMA 251
June
2019		Black Coffee UmqheleSho MadjoziSho MadjoziBlack CoffeeBlack MotionBob Mabena
Twasa Seoke
Melanie Bala
Khuli Chana
Mpho Popps
Nomzamo Mbatha		Sun City Super Bowl
SAMA 263 August
7 August 2020		Sun City Super Bowl
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Notable moments

Arthur Mafokate on-stage defiance (1995)

At the 1st South African Music Awards, kwaito artist Arthur Mafokate performed a simulation of anal sex on a dancer. This was done as an act of defiance to the organisers, as he felt there was a need for a Kwaito Award. The following year the organiser introduced the award category.

Funky national anthem (1997)

It had been three years since the first democratic elections in South Africa and a new national anthem had been introduced at the beginning of the 1997. At the 3rd South African Music Awards, popular kwaito-group Boom Shaka decided to re-create the anthem in a "funky" on-stage performance, that later caused a "public blacklash".

Brenda Fassie demanding her award (2001)

Towards the end of the five-hour-long 7th South African Music Awards, Brenda Fassie accused a prominent journalist of being a homosexual - using the derogatory slang word moffie. She went on to further accuse him of destroying her with the articles he published. At an after-party, she was seen fighting with Mandoza and demanding that he hand over his award as it was "her award".

First Virtual Reality live broadcast (2016)

The SAMA22 was the first awards show to be broadcast live in its entirety in 360° video, with Virtual Reality made possible by Unreal Industries.