The Royal Festival Hall was the ideal and imposing venue for the UK Asian Music Awards presented in association with the popular B4U Music channel on 6th March 08. The Awards event in its sixth year has created much interest in the Asian Music scene promoting the image of highly talented UK and international artists celebrating their work and honouring them with formal recognition. The opening of the Awards commenced with the stage being pounded with some high voltage entertainment which included rising stars Jas Dhingra with lively Dhol sounds; Navin Kundra relaxing and easy listening; hip Dutchman Imran Khan; Sona Family who sang ‘Tali Bajao' animatedly and duo Surinder Rattan with hip hop artist Blitzkrieg.
The fast growing Awards ceremony was well hosted by Preeya Kalidas and Salil Acharya who presented the show and we were treated to a diverse range of excellent performances which included groups and solo artists.
The Awards interspersed with some great entertainment which included Trickbaby with a modern edge; D-Boy sporting a gold jacket surrounded by belly dancers; Lehmber Hussainpuri lit the stage in a bright blue turban & jacket and was much applauded for his Bhangra moves; the smooth Jay Sean with screaming fans; Shaanti with heavy bass rhythms; Karen David good to watch with her ensemble of supporting artists; the bold Punjabi Hit Squad featuring sweet sounding Alyssia and the well established Rishi Rich closed the Awards show with singers H Dhami, Mumzy and Veronica.
The Winners in the 15 categories being:-
Best Producer - Swami. Best Club DJ - Klimax ‘'who make the parties happen.'' Best Female Act - Hard Kaur funny and feisty girl who brazenly said "I'm not going to swear tonight etc... and I thank all the people who've been horrible to me...they can kiss my chichee!'' Best Website - Desi Hits, well deserved. Best Act - Sukshinder Shinda presented by Daniel Bedingfield and Adil Ray who said ‘'need people like him in the business.'' Best Radio Show - Adil Ray charming and well known who said ‘'thanks and more to come.'' Best International Artist - Adnan Sami who was absent but Ameet Chana received award for him commenting ‘'he's a living legend, burning influence and Adnan has lost a whole person in weight!'' Best Underground - Shaanti who thanked his wife for direction and said'' Asian Underground is very important to the scene like Chemical Brothers.'' Best Newcomer - H Dhami dedicated his award to his dad already a veteran in the music industry. Best Video - Jay Sean to more screams said he was back after 3 years and made his own video for Ride It. Best Album - Sukshinder Shinda top Bhangra artist of the moment. Best Urban Act - Jay Sean again who said ‘'you guys are the people that made me.'' Commitment to Scene - Nitin Sawhney another veteran of the music industry whose work has crossed over to the mainstream market in films, TV, Ads having worked alongside major names like Sting and Sir Paul McCartney. Outstanding Achievement - Shin from DCS whose award was presented by Gurinder Chadha who commented ‘'can you hear what I'm hearing...sizzling sound...that's all the talent that's here'' & 2nd presenter Bala Iyer, Vice President of B4U Music. And, Lifetime Achievement - Heera dedicating their awards to their wives joking in Punjabi and entertaining the audience with an impromptu sing-a-long.
Media Moguls handled PR for the UK AMA's event.
All quotes in above article are fairly accurate.
By Amita Chatterji & Gina Chrysanthou ©
Photos from pre Awards entertainment & Afterparty below:
Jas Dhingra DJ with Dhol players
Navin Kundra and Dancers
Imran Khan with belly dancer
Sona Family
Lehmber Hussainpuri and guests
Gina, Daniel Bedingfield and Amita
Guests with Daniel Bedingfield
Amita, Kulvinder Ghir, Gina, Sunny
Sona Family - JC, Harry and Riz