Following in the footsteps of the 2019 nominations, the 2020 Headies are incredibly inclusive.
On February 21, 2021, Nigeria's premier music award show held via virtual and live media due to COVID-19 restrictions.
A lot of the show had been pre-recorded and the live event, featuring nominees held at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. The red carpet began at 5pm while the main event belatedly commenced around 9:50 pm.
The year-in-review is between July 2019 and September 2020. It will be the 14th edition of an award heralded by Ayo Animashaun and his company, HipHop World. Fireboy led the way with five wins including Album of The Year for his sophomore album, Apollo while Wizkidwon two awards including Artist of The Year.
he show was attended by a lot of Nigerian celebrities like Wizkid, 2baba, Sound Sultan, Fireboy, Idia Aisien, AY, AQ, iLLBliss, Bad Boy Timz, Omah Lay, Mayorkun and more while Davido, Burna Boy and Tiwa Savage weren't seen amongst the crowd.
This year saw winners in new categories; Songwriter of The Year and Best Alternative Album. The hosts were Bovi and Nancy Isime.
There is no segmentation of nominations to just the superstars.
Winners in each category are written in BOLD.
Below are the full list of winners;
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 artiste or group in the year under review.
- OZYMANDIAS – BRYMO
- SMILE - WIZKID FEAT. HER
- WONDERFUL – BURNA BOY
- DREAMER – FIREBOY DML
- GHOST TOWN – WURLD
BEST POP SINGLE
A voting category for the best pop single in year under review (by single individual or group).
- BILLIONAIRE – TENI
- NOBODY – DJ NEPTUNE FEAT. JOEBOY & MR. EAZI.
- LADY – REMA
- FEM – DAVIDO
- JORO - WIZKID
- SKELETUN - TEKNO
SONG OF THE YEAR
A voting category for the most popular song in the year under review.
- FEM – DAVIDO
- NOBODY – DJ NEPTUNE FEAT. JOEBOY & MR. EAZI
- JORO - WIZKID
- MAFO – NAIRA MARLEY
- DUDUKE – SIMI
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
An individual responsible for producing the most acclaimed song or album in the year under review.
- PHEELZ – ‘BILLIONAIRE’ BY TENI
- SPAX – ‘AWAY’ BY OXLADE
- KEL P – ‘PULL UP’ BY BURNA BOY
- SARZ – ‘MAD’ BY SARZ & WURLD
BEST RAP ALBUM
A non-voting category for the best album by a rap artiste or group in year under review.
- GOD’S ENGINEERING – AQ
- ILLY CHAPO X - ILLBLISS
- YPSZN2 – PSYCHO YP
- CULT! – PAYBAC IBORO
- THE ERIGMA II - ERIGGA
BEST R&B ALBUM
A category for the best r&b album in the year under review (by single individual or group).
1. LAUGHTER, TEARS AND GOOSEBUMPS – FIREBOY DML
2. I LIKE GIRLS WITH TROBUL – SARZ & WURLD
3. KING – PRAIZ
4. BOO OF THE BOOLESS – CHIKE
5. CELIA – TIWA SAVAGE
BEST ALTERNATIVE ALBUM
A category for the best Alternative album in the year under review (by single individual or group).
- YELLOW – BRYMO
- LUCID – ASA
- THE LIGHT – BEZ
- PIONEERS – DRB LASGIDI
- ROOTS – THE CAVEMEN
BEST POP ALBUM
A category for the best pop album in the year under review (by single individual or group).
- APOLLO – FIREBOY DML
- AFRICAN GIANT – BURNA BOY
- A GOOD TIME – DAVIDO
- WOMAN OF STEEL – YEMI ALADE
- AFRO POP VOL. 1 – ADEKUNLE GOLD
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.
1. ELI – FIREBOY DML BY CLARENCE PETERS
2. 1 MILLI – DAVIDO BY DIRECTOR K
3. SMILE – WIZKID BY MEJI ALABI
4. BILLIONAIRE - TENI BY TG OMORI
5. SHEKERE - YEMI ALADE BY OVIE ETSEYATSE
BEST R&B SINGLE
A category for the best r&b single in the year under review (by a single individual or group).
UNDER THE SKY – PRAIZ
- DUDUKE – SIMI
- MAD – SARZ & WURLD
- BAD INFLUENCE – OMAH LAY
- TATTOO – FIREBOY DML
- DANGEROUS LOVE – TIWA SAVAGE
BEST COLLABORATION
A voting category for the best r&b, pop or hip-hop collaborative track (including cameos).
- KNOW YOU – LADIPOE FEAT. SIMI
- NOBODY – DJ NEPTUNE FEAT. JOEBOY & MR. EAZI
- SWEET IN THE MIDDLE – DAVIDO FEAT. NAIRA MARLEY, ZLATAN & WURLD
- DON’T CALL ME BACK – JOEBOY FEAT. MAYORKUN
- TOTORI – ID CABASA FEAT. WIZKID & OLAMIDE
- GET THE INFO – PHYNO FEAT. PHENOM & FALZ
BEST RAP SINGLE
A voting category for a single (released on-air) recording of a rap song.
- OGB4IG – REMINISCE
- SHUT UP – BLAQBONEZ
- COUNTRY – ILLBLISS
- GET THE INFO – PHYNO, FALZ & PHENOM
- BOP DADDY – FALZ FEAT. MS. BANKS
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.
- WURLD – GHOST TOWN
- CHIKE – FORGIVE
- PRAIZ – UNDER THE SKY
- COHBAMS – PLENTI
- NONSO AMADI – WHAT MAKES YOU SURE
- JOHNNY DRILLE – COUNT ON YOU
BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE (FEMALE)
A non-voting category for the single female artiste with most outstanding vocal performances on a single song or album.
- SIMI – NO LONGER BENEFICIAL
- LINDSEY ABUDEI – ONE ON THE OUTSIDE
- NINIOLA - ADDICTED
- J-DESS – CHI EFO
- YEMI ALADE – LAI LAI
- IMANSE - AJALA
NEXT RATED
This category is a voting category for the most promising act in the year under review.
- TEMS
- OMAH LAY
- OXLADE
- BELLA SHMURDA
HEADIES REVELATION
A voting category for the best new artiste with a debut album adjudged to be outstanding in terms of artistic quality and impact within the year under review.
- VICTOR AD
- FIREBOY DML
- JOEBOY
- TENI
- REMA
- CHIKE
LYRICIST ON THE ROLL
A non-voting category for the rap artiste with the best lyrical depth and performance on a single song or album.
- AQ – EUNICE
- BLAQBONEZ – DEFINE RAP 2
- MI ABAGA – TRINITY
- ILLBLISS – COUNTRY
- PHENOM – GET THE INFO
- PHYNO – SPEAK LIFE
BEST STREET-HOP ARTISTE
A voting category for the artiste whose songs are inspired by the streets. Such song should captain lingua, which may also be originated by the artiste and popular on the street.
- NAIRA MARLEY & YOUNG JOHN – MAFO
- MAYORKUN – GENG
- REMINISCE FEAT. OLAMIDE & NAIRA MARLEY – INSTAGRAM
- RUDEBOY – AUDIO MONEY
- IVD & ZLATAN – BOLANLE
- OLAMIDE - PAWON
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.
- CORNER – LADY DONLY FEAT. VANJESS & THE CAVEMEN
- I WONDER - MOELOGO
- BITTER - DEENA ADE
- ANITA - THE CAVEMEN
- MONEY DEVOTION - GBASKY
- GOD SAVE THE QUEEN - OLU
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
A voting category for the best album (solo or group) in year under review, that meets judges’ requirements of excellence (songwriting, production, rendition and impact).
- AFRICAN GIANT - BURNA BOY
- APOLLO – FIREBOY DML
- AFRO POP VOL. 1 - ADEKUNLE GOLD
- YELLOW – BRYMO
- BOO OF THE BOOLESS - CHIKE
ARTISTE OF THE YEAR
Most critically and commercially adjudged artiste in the year under review. Overall most successful artiste in the year under review.
- BURNA BOY
- DAVIDO
- WIZKID
- MAYORKUN
- TIWA SAVAGE
AFRICAN ARTISTE RECOGNITION
A non-Nigerian award category for an individual African artiste or group with the most outstanding achievement, impact and infiltration into the Nigerian music scene in the year under review.
- MASTER KG
- KUAMI EUGENE
- SAUTI SOL
- SHAATA WALE
- STONEBWOY
HEADIES’ VIEWER’S CHOICE
A voting category to award the fan’s favorite artiste with the most digital tractions (downloads, views, streams) in the year under review.
- DAVIDO
- OMAH LAY
- BURNA BOY
- FALZ
- FIREBOY DML
- MAYORKUN
- DJ NEPTUNE
- WIZKID
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.
- OLAKIRA
- ALPHA P
- JAMOPYPER
- ZINOLEESKY
- BAD BOY TIMZ
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.
- SIMISOLA BOLATITO OGUNLEYE (SIMI – DUDUKE)
- ADEDAMOLA ADEFOLAHAN (FIREBOY DML – DREAMER)
- DAMINI OGULU (BURNA BOY – WAY TOO BIG)
- STANLEY OMAH DIDIA (OMAH LAY – BAD INFLUENCE)
- SADIQ ONIFADE (WURLD – GHOST TOWN
- ADEKUNLE KOSOKO (1 MILLION – DAVIDO)
SPECIAL RECOGNITION:
A special recognition to an individual(s) for excellence and outstanding impact to the entertainment industry.
EEDRIS ABDULKAREEM
TIMAYA
HALL OF FAME:
A special recognition to an individual for excellence and outstanding impact to the entertainment industry.
KING SUNNY ADE
