March 3, 2008
The UK Asian Music Awards takes place later this week at the Royal Festival Hall on 6th March. The event will be hosted by actress Preeya Kalidas and Mumbai based B4U presenter ‘VJ Sahil’.
Awards will be given on the night for: Best Album, Best Act, Best Female Act, Best Underground Act, Best Video, Best International Act, Best Newcomer, Best Producer, Best Club DJ, Best Urban Act, Best Radio Show and Best Website. Special awards on the night include Commitment to the Scene and Outstanding Achievement.
Organisers say the winners will be determined by public voting that took place through their website.
The event will feature performances music artists inluding: North American hip hop artists Blitzkrieg, Roachkilla and Kidd Skily with Surinder Rattan, D-Boy featuring Swiss and V Dubl-E, Dutch singer Imran Khan, singers Jay Sean, Karen David, Lehmber Hussainpuri, Punjabi Hit Squad featuring Alyssia, girl group Serese, the Shaanti Collective, Sona Family, Trickbaby.
Rishi Rich will be closing the show with a special performance with Veronica, Mumzy and H Dhami.
Controversy
The UK AMAs had been dogged by controversy in the past, most notably in 2004 when rival award ceremonies went head-to-head in an effort to establish themselves.
Br-Asian, the company organising the rival awards ceremony has since bowed out of organising the British Asian Music Awards, leaving the field clear for the UK Asian Music Awards.
But that does not mean a smooth sailing for promoters of the latter event. The UK AMAs still face credibility issues after claiming in the past to have media partners that turned out not to be the case. Last year’s event was also a lacklustre affair, dogged by constant mishaps.
They promise this year will be different.