I followed The Headies and this is what I found [Pulse Opinion]

First off, I love insane music--the meaningless one with the mad beats that gets me throwing my head this way and that at work as I try to make meaning of President Buhari’s policies or Governor Sanwo-Olu’s disappearances.

Music is always that great companion and escape at work and yes, I listen to all genres. And if it’s Nigerian, great!!!

So, yeah, I followed the 13th Headies on the ground and on television--taking notes, losing it all when Bovi and DJ Cuppy appeared on stage with their Gelato and said the same words into the mic, crying like a baby when STYL Plus rolled back the years with nostalgic tunes and reaching for my boxing gloves when Blaqbonez kept screaming “It is me” like he owned the darn world!

You've got to love Blaqbonez' confidence, though.

Blaqbonez points the way forward for younger rappers [Pulse] Pulse Nigeria

I also agree with Motolani Alake here that host Nancy Isime tried so hard to be funny and that it was disrespectful for some of the A-list artistes not to show up to receive their statuettes. Like, who the hell do these guys think they are?

Alright, I’m sorry I cussed.

I really don’t want to talk about Wizkid and his ill timed 02 show. As you can see, I’m trying really hard to be on my best behavior today.

The Headies had glaring hiccups which Alake has done a good job outlining in his masterpiece. Nigeria’s best music awards show can be a lot better if HipTV puts in a bit more effort. Why was the picture quality so substandard...so 1995? What will it cost HipTV to migrate to HD? Ok, I get it, a lot actually.

Backstage, co-host Reminisce was livid and fuming because the show organisers had chosen to ditch the script which would have made the event a bit more seamless. Why put away the event script after months and weeks of rehearsals between Reminisce and Isime? Why disrupt the flow by going extemporaneous?

Nancy Isime and Reminisce were the hosts of the 13th edition of The Headies. [Instagram/Headies] Pulse Nigeria

That moment when Nancy Isime was showing off her dress to the crowd, she had apparently lost communication with the team backstage. The technical department did a good job making a mess of this show all night--interlude was poorly managed all through and the sound wasn't great on occasion.

A source backstage also tells me that there was supposed to be a skit on the MI/Vector beef that has dominated social media chatter for weeks, but the organisers took that off the script as well. So, event hosts and presenters who had rehearsed their roles in a carefully crafted script weeks prior, arrived backstage to be told that they were no longer going to be following the script.

Which explains the hiccups, some award presenters arriving stage without the envelopes containing name of winner, some presenters getting onstage with no shred of chemistry between them and mangling their lines as a consequence; and Nancy Isime standing there to regale us with dry jokes and bare-bone lines all night. But hey, I have no complaints about her showing us her backside time and again and even threatening to twerk!!! And her stylists were right on the money with their picks for her, it has to be said.

Wizkid, Naira Marley, Fireboy thrill the O2 Arena in London on the night of The Headies. (Twitter/MusicGuide) Pulse Nigeria

To be fair, you have to give Isime credit overall for trying to keep it all together when everything was falling apart backstage.

In the final analysis, it’s 13 years for Chrissake, Dear Ayo Animashaun!!! This show is no longer yours. It belongs to the industry. It belongs to the culture and it’s got to be bigger with each year. Outsource this thing, hire the best people and strive for best practices at all times. If the show attains the right quality (it’s already got the right audience), sponsors will be queuing at your door for a piece of the pie. Trust me this once.