South Africa
The red carpet, the staple of award shows — or black carpet (in anticipation of all things dark and gloomy) – can really be bad for brand reputation, and the 2024 Metro FM Awards 2024 at Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga at the weekend were a classic case for that, or at least according to Phil Mphela’s interpretation, a good example of a poor planning.
“Haai, organising red-carpet spaces to create a moment for stars is not our thing,” the renowned South African entertainment commentator tweeted Sunday.
Presented under the unimaginative ‘Black to the Future’ theme, the prestigious annual music awards were slammed by tweeps for cheaping out on production, and honestly you didn’t have be an event expert to admit that the black carpet was an eyesore. It pretty much looked liked someone took an old cheap rug rolled up in their garage and charged big time for it.
“See how other kids do it … Red carpet in Brazil … small but effective. Enough space for mid and full length shots,” Mphela went on say, referencing previous high profile events he attended which did a stellar job with impressive ‘red carpet’ moments.
“Red Carpet in Lagos (Nigeria) … big and meets all necessary requirements for an effective coverage.
“Red Carpet in Mzansi … Netflix’s Bridgerton premiere in 2022 and Showmax’s Real Housewives Of Lagos also in 2022 were proper,” the tweet further read.
Clearly dismayed by the awards’ somewhat lackadaisical effort, he said in a concluding note: “2024 … Metros black carpet in Mbombela. 🤦🏾♂️”.
Many tweeps agreed with his sentiments, with one X user (@zottyzulu) replying: “No draping on the ceiling, around the pillars 🤦🏾♀️ it looks like a prison pageant.” Another shared:
However, on-stage the show went on nearly flawless with the biggest winners being Amapiano star Kabza de Small and Mthunzi – with a total of four awards:
• SONG OF THE YEAR
• BEST AMAPIANO
• BEST PRODUCED ALBUM
• BEST COLLABORATION
This year, category winners received R50,000 each, with the Song of the Year winners pocketing a handsome R150,000 cash prize.
Other highlights of the night included Tyla for taking home the Global Icon Award, Makhadzi and Aymos for Best Female and Male Artist honours respectively, A-Reece for winning Best Hiphop Award (for ‘Ving Rhames’), Lwa Ndlunkulu for Artist of the Year, Zakes Bantwini for Best Dance Award, with Oskido and 90s pop outfit Boom Shaka bestowed with Lifetime Achievement gongs.
