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Ayra Starr slams the Headies for failing to award Best Female Artist on stage.
Nigerian music sensation Ayra Starr has expressed her thoughts on the Best Female Artist of the Year after the Headies failed to award it on stage.
The 2023 Headies Award ceremony occurred on September 3, 2023, at the Cobb Energy Centre in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The event brought together key figures from the African music industry to celebrate Nigerian music.
Ayra Starr emerged as the winner of the Best Female award, triumphing over nominees such as Tems, Tiwa Savage, and Simi. However, Ayra Starr expressed her feelings on Twitter (X) following the award’s absence from the stage presentation.
Ayra Starr voiced her disappointment, stating that she couldn’t fully appreciate winning an award that the Headies deemed unworthy of being presented on the event stage, despite the presence of the audience.
“I will never be grateful for winning a category that wasn’t even deemed fit to be announced on stage! Best female artist na beans? We work hard, every single one of us! I’ve seen Tiwa record 4 hit songs in the same night, Tems breaths and lives for music, we didn’t deserve such nonchalance! Nigeria, you didn’t raise me to settle for less.”
I will never be grateful for winning a category that wasn’t even deemed fit to be announced on stage ! Best female artist na beans ? We work hard, every single one of us ! I’ve seen Tiwa record 4 hit songs in the same night , Tems breaths and lives for music , we didn’t deserve…
— Celestial being (@ayrastarr) September 4, 2023
It’s important to highlight that not all the winners of the 2023 Headies Awards were publicly announced during the ceremony. Out of the 14 awards revealed at the event in Atlanta, the prestigious Record of the Year award was among those presented.
This decision to exclude the Best Female Artist award from the on-stage presentation was viewed by some as undervaluing the contributions of women in the industry. Ayra Starr’s tweet resonates with this perspective, as it underscores the sentiment that the absence of on-stage recognition for the female category is concerning.