On May 24, The Headies released the list of nominees and their categories ahead of the 15th year of the annual award show set to hold on September 4 this year. 

We are excited to see the new, on the come up, and consistent names of women in the music industry from Nigeria and across Africa who are among the list of nominees. 

And the nominees are;

FAVE

Bagging nominations in the Best RnB Single and Rookie of the Year awards category, this fast-rising act is no less deserving of the recognition she has gotten thus far. 

FAVE took up singing at an early age – at school, at home, at social family gatherings – while listening to international stars such as Asa, Ciara, Beyoncé, and Tiwa Savage, who she has attributed as huge influences in her music and inspiration in her career. 

FAVE or FAVE SZN started as a Twitter sensation, covering her favourite songs, serenading her followers with beautifully written songs and finally released her first official single in 2019 titled Me or MaskMy Sin. 

Her claim to the spotlight rose rapidly after her freestyle to a beat that producer Jimmu Abduls put out on Twitter. She then m released another single N.B.U and later her viral singles Beautifully and Baby Riddim. Ever since FAVE has steadily gathered a fanbase across the continent and delivered beautifully written songs. 

TEMS

Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and record producer, Tems, recently celebrated being the first African artiste to debut number Billboard 100 and the second Nigerian artist to top the charts. 

Born Temilade Openiyi in the mid-’90s in Lagos Nigeria, Tems picked up music in school learning to play the piano and sing while her brother strummed his guitar. In her teenage years, she listened to artists such as Beyoncé, Aaliyah, Destiny’s Child, Alicia Keys, Adele, etc. At age 15 she stopped actively listening to other artists to find her style. 

Tems’ trajectory since quitting her job and facing music squarely in 2018 is one for the books. In 2018 she also released her debut single Mr Rebel, and released another titled Try Me the following year and the year after that he got a feature gig on an international single Know Your Worth by American singer Khalid alongside fellow Nigerian artistes Davido. That’s the same year, she produced and released her debut extended playlist (EP). 

So far in her rise to stardom, Tems has gone international featuring in songs with world-famous artists such as Drake, Future, Justin Bieber, Wizkid, etc. So far she has won a Soul Train Music Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Global Music Performance and was included in The Future Awards Africa: Class of 2020. 

This being her third time as a possible recipient of The Headies award, she has been nominated this year in four categories; Best Vocal Performance, Best Collaboration, Best RnB album, and Best Female Artiste. 

In our last episode, Document Women highlighted the rise of the “Bloody Samaritan” crooner, Ayra Starr and viral TikTok  “Do You Really Like Me?” songstress Ugoccie.