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Is singer already the biggest loser of the Headies 2016?

Without the eligibility of ‘Duro’ and ‘Pana’, which are sure-fire award-winning materials, it feels a bit short for Alhaji Tekno at the Headies.
Tekno Miles
Tekno Miles

You know that feeling you get when you work hard, put in your best shift, carry your weight, justify your pay, and get paid. It’s a priceless feeling to earn what you deserve, have worked for and now enjoy. Combine that labourer’s heaven with extra praise from your boss or given prizes for what you have done, and then it’s almost heavenly.

Tekno has missed this chance at capping his hard earned status with deservedly more awards, and frankly, it is not his fault. When the nominees list for the 2016 Headies were announced, many flocked to various platforms to find out who has been shown the most love, and who snagged up the most categories.

Tekno is one man that deservedly needs to have his name splattered across that list. In the past one year, no one has dominated the country’s pop music in the way that the MMMG singer has done. From hit single to mega-hit single, along with a handful of popular songs, Tekno risen tall and stands proud as one of the major players in the game.

But the Headies nominations list failed to represent on their platform, what is on the market. There was no huge takeover by the singer, no multiple nominations to satisfy our expectations from the singer and the Headies. What we got was almost nothing except for the ‘Next Rated’ awards. Tekno was nominated alongside Aramide, Humblesmith, Mr Eazi, and Ycee.

That must have hurt.

Why was ‘Duro’ and ‘Pana’, the hottest singles of the singer missing from the list? Why didn’t these songs which has rocked Nigeria from every corner sit tall on the list?

The answer is no one’s fault. This isn’t a conspiracy to shut out the boy wonder from the awards, neither was politics a huge part of it. Tekno submitted his singles as entries for the awards. But in a classic case of coincidence, bad luck or poor karma, his release dates for the singles worked against him.

The year in review for the Headies 2016 states that every project released in the time frame of July 2015 – June 2016 will be considered. Tekno’s hit songs did not fall in the dates. ‘Duro’ was released in June 2015, essentially disqualifying it from consideration, and our current pop drug, ‘Pana’ was let fly in July 2016. That means his singles were released a month before and a month after consideration. That has to hurt. It’s like spending all day chopping wood, only to discover that they are all wet and cannot be burnt for energy and warmth.

But as consolation and a representation of his current status, he is nominated for the prestigious and rewarding Next Rated category, which is a voting category for the most promising upcoming act in the year under review.

Tekno has been far from promising. He has soared in the past two years, and the Next Rated trophy looks like it belongs to him already on paper.

But it could have been more for him. Without the eligibility of ‘Duro’ and ‘Pana’, which are sure-fire award-winning materials, it feels a bit short for him. In many ways, he is the biggest loser of the Headies, who will be left ruing what would have been.

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