The Good, the Bad, and the Awful: A Review of the 15th Headies Awards [Pulse Review]

Let’s begin with the awful chief among which is the annoying two-hours delay.

Nigerian Time: A part of me actually held out hope that the lack of coordination that has pervaded the show in its last decade will not be exported to the US. Well, jokes on me for thinking Nigerian time is limited to Nigeria.

As it turns out, Nigerian time is anywhere that two or more Nigerians are gathered.

The Headies saw a two-hour delay without any explanation, and the only apology was in the form of a hurriedly organized tacky fashion show that was supposed to entertain the viewers whom they kept up late.

Red Carpet Disasterclass: The red carpet is not an expedition into Space such that it requires the joint efforts of celebrated scientists. It’s a simple task that requires a carpet, a camera crew, and a host(s) who have some idea what his/her job entails.

The Headies, however, had other ideas. The red carpet at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta was so small and there was just a single host which led to a situation where the guests had to queue up like they were waiting for their turn to place their order on a roadside bistro.

One would expect that a red carpet host would at least have some ideas as to why so many individuals showed up at the venue colorfully dressed. However, the Gentleman who did the honors at the Headies 2022 red carpet appeared to be very ignorant as to why so many people left their homes and turned up at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta, Georgia.

He kept on rather inexplicably asking the Guests “So what brought you here today?”, in what was a befuddling and provocative interaction. It was almost as if he was found in a waffle house situated close to the event center, given some money and a suit with the instructions to “Just ask the guests whatever question that comes to mind”.

Epileptic Coverage: Ordinarily, I shouldn’t be commending Hip TV for covering its own award, but let’s face it, its a giant stride for an award show whose coverage looks like a camcorder recording of a secondary school quiz competition by NTA Lagos.

It’s rather unfortunate and pathetic for the coverage of a live award show to suddenly seize and go radio silence for minutes on.

The Headies had an entire year to plan for this award and get their technicalities right but they just can’t get it right, and one begins to sound like a broken record just talking about it.

Now, let’s proceed to the bad parts of the show which were just a gaffe or two short of being awful.

The Diabolical Hosting of Anthony Anderson: We all love Anthony Anderson the famous Mr. Johnson on “Blackish”. When he hosted the MTV Africa Music Awards in South Africa in 2015, he delivered some decent jokes even though it pales in comparison to Marlon Wayans incredible performance at the 2014 edition.

As Headies heads to Atlanta, it was understandable that they will go big by hiring a famous face for Hollywood and Anthony Anderson got the nod alongside Nigerian award-winning actress Osas Ighodoro.

To put it simply, Anthony Anderson was unwatchable. He made successive tasteless jokes that at some point began to appear condescending.

He messed up the names of guests and then proceeded to make jokes about it. He lazily tried to buy some affection and familiarity by needlessly throwing the names of Wizkid and Tems around. He appeared uninterested in the event, the audience, and the music that created the event. At some point, he made disrespectful jokes that the award was taking too long before yelling that he wanted to go home. Perhaps, these might have been funny if he hadn’t been acting like he was hosting the award against his will.

Osas also cut a sorry figure as she played second fiddle behind her co-host while employing an exhausting American accent. To be fair, she laughed at some of Anthony’s terrible jokes which must have taken a lot of charity and good acting skills.

It was a diabolical and unwatchable performance from Anthony Anderson which was only made slightly bearable by Osas’s grace.

Who were those Presenters?: The Headies was always going to give the local community a chance to partake in the cultural cross-pollination but I don’t think everyone is fit to hand out awards.

Some of the presenters appeared clueless and ill equipped for the task delegated to them. There was a fellow who began a meaningless monologue in American accent after the projector disappointed him. We had to endure watching this fellow as he painfully attempted to improvise, and he even had the temerity to threaten the viewers and audience with a freestyle before the Projector jotted back to live and salvaged the moment.

There was also Mr. Ayo Makun who attempted what he believes was a joke. It was such an epic fail and an embarrassing moment for Nigerians especially since he’s suppose to be a Comedian.

Poor Stage Coordination: During the show, the presenters took a lifetime to walk from backstage to the stage. The delay in presenting the award and also accepting the award made the show tedious and sometimes frustrating to follow.

There are parts of the show from which the organizers, stakeholders, and fans can take some positives.

Better Performances: While the performances are not yet at the level they need to be, there was a visible improvement at the 2022 Headies Awards.

The performers supported by live bands offered decent live performances that thrilled the audience and viewers. Notable amongst the Nights’ performers are Ruger, Flavour, Lojay, and BNXN.

Better Acceptance Speeches: The acceptance speeches at the 15th Headies were better than we have seen in recent years. We saw sincerity from winners, excitement from first-time winners such as Goya Menor and Ibejii, and well-delivered speeches from the A-Q, Patoranking Fire, and Adekunle Gold.

A significant contribution to Afrobeats to the World: Afrobeats is on an ascension internationally as it is emerging as the genre of choice amongst global consumers. The decision of the Headies Academy to take the 15th edition to the US fits into the collective goal of advancing Afrobeats.

At the end of the day, the 15th Headies was limited by familiar shortcomings which the Academy seems unable to address despite the obvious simplicity of these challenges.

Even as we thoroughly indict the Headies for a terribly average showing, we must be reminded that it’s in the collective interest of the music industry that the Headies gets it right. And for this reason, we must maintain hope that next year shall be better.