11th Annual BMAs To Highlight Barbados’ Musical Growth

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - Dec. 2, 2015 - PRLog -- Half of a century has passed. Barbados moved from being a mainly agricultural colony, fueled not by oil like its neighbor to the south, but by the hard work of slaves,  into being a thriving nation on the verge of first World status.

What has also changed is that an island which established a vibrant music export sector in the 1970s is now globally branded and known as a talent pool for major record labels and is at the cusp of being the Caribbean’s music business hub.

The 2014- 2015 period, defined from November 1st 2014- November 1st 2015, saw Barbadian entertainers take the proverbial bull by the horns, and made game-changing strides in their quest for that relished global breakthrough. Christmas 2014 saw the release of Debbie Reifer’s highly acclaimed Christmas album Noel, and at the same time, former Teen Talent winner Laurianne stunned with her acclaimed debut Journey to Survival.

As jazz Midas Elan Trotman continued to rack up major tours, he also placed singles on the Billboard Jazz charts, joining Rihanna in the music industry publication, as she too landed hits including B Better Have My Money and Four Five Seconds recorded with Kanye West and the World’s most successful singer / songwriter of all time- Sir Paul McCartney.

Rihanna earned the distinction, officially, of being the best selling digital singles artist of all time, with a whopping 100 million singles sold in the USA alone (RIAA). She also won another American Music Award, an MTV Europe Award and dominated retail with her fragrances, socks, GUCCI, Balmain and PUMA collections, yet again earning a spot on the FORBES list of highest paid entertainers.

The Barbados Music Awards, One Love, NIFCA, the Richard Stoute Teen Talent, 6-12 and Over 21 competitions, the Barbados Reggae Festival, Gospelfest and many other major  annual events were all successes as well, creating a vibrant live event market.

Crop Over 2015 was indeed simply beyond anyone’s imagination. The festival said to generate over $110 million annually, was a blockbuster success. Peter Ram was dominant with his smash All Ah We, winning three major titles. Classic edged Donella at the Pic-O-De Crop Finals for his first win, while Edwin Yearwood returned to his winning ways taking the Sweet Soca crown. Barbados Today launched the highly competitive BT Crop Over Superstar competition, where Azizi Clarke emerged the winner and landed a BMA nomination for Best New Artist in the process.
Gospel icon Joseph Niles, NCF administrator and cultural expert Vere Brown and the Merrymen’s Robin Hunte all unfortunately passed, but their legacies are powerful and will be recognized with tributes at the BMAs.

The Barbados Music Awards, being held on Saturday, January 9th at the Garfield Sobers Gymnasium, featuring a stellar lineup including Barbados’ multi-million-selling R&B songstress Shontelle, US television and film star Derek Luke of Empire fame, calypso queen Terencia Coward, the before-mentioned Peter Ram, Hypasounds and others, will seek to top the highly rated, well attended tenth edition which featured Boris Kodjoe and Shirley Murdock, and where Imani became only the third female ever to win the Female Entertainer of the Year award.

Early bird tickets for this red carpet event are now available ($25- stands, $50- grounds and $200 VIP) from RUBIS Wildey, SOL (Black Rock, Redmans and Charles Rowe Bridge), Exclusive Boutique Sheraton, Ticketpal (online) and by delivery (246) 232-4103.