Headies Awards Executive Producer Ayo Animashaun Shares Insights on Shifting the Event to the United States

In an exclusive interview with popular actress Iyabo Ojo, Ayo Animashaun, the executive producer of the Headies Awards, shed light on the decision to hold the award ceremony outside Nigeria.

According to Animashaun, the global prominence of the Afrobeats genre has transformed the Headies Awards into a global recognition platform for artists achieving excellence on an international scale.

Addressing the evolution of Afrobeats artists into global icons, Animashaun explained, “Over the years, the Afrobeats artists have grown, they’ve evolved.

They’re no longer local champions. They sell out concert venues around the world, from Madison Square Garden to [Atlanta’s] State Farm Arena.”

Recognizing the need for Afrobeats to have a prominent global stage, he emphasized that hosting the awards in Nigeria in the traditional manner would not sufficiently showcase the vast talent within the genre.

Discussing the choice of Atlanta as the venue, Animashaun revealed, “Atlanta is like the Black entertainment capital of the world.

After asking questions about everything, a consultant said for this kind of award, Atlanta is a good spot for it. You have a lot going on here. We decided, ‘You know what? Let’s settle there and make a difference.'”

When questioned about the potential return of the award ceremony to Nigeria, Animashaun stated,

“Right now, we don’t want to leave the nest yet ‘cause we put a lot into bringing the awards here.”

He highlighted the ongoing efforts and investments made over the past year and a half, emphasizing that the decision to move the awards to the U.S. is an experiment for this year.

While considering the possibility of future locations such as the U.K. or the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Animashaun hinted at the likelihood of the awards being held in the U.S. again next year.

Iyabo Ojo: Headies Awards last year was not in Nigeria. Why?

Ayo Animashaun: pic.twitter.com/VxGE16Ruqx

— 🐬 @𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗯𝗼𝘆 (@OneJoblessBoy) December 3, 2023