Ayo Animashaun, founder of The Headies, has criticised Nigerian artistes for chasing Grammy recognition while allegedly ignoring their own music awards.
Several Nigerian artistes, including Davido, Asake and Adekunle Gold, have recently submitted their works for consideration at the 2027 Grammy Awards. They hope to secure nominations across different categories.
In an Instagram post, Animashaun questioned why artistes pursued foreign awards but failed to enter The Headies. He also faulted those who later complained about missing out on nominations.
“Tom, Dick and Harry will submit entries to foreign award bodies that don’t even care about them and proudly post about it. But these same people won’t submit their entries to the Headies, yet they’ll complain about not being nominated. Funny,” he wrote.
Animashaun also defended the organisers’ decisions, including plans to take the awards to Canada. He said the team would stand by its choices if beneficiaries, artistes and sponsors understood its vision.
He acknowledged that some decisions might attract criticism. However, he argued that people would appreciate their value with time.
“As long as those who benefit from what we do understand and appreciate it, the artistes understand why taking The Headies to the moon sometimes is the right move, and our sponsors see the vision, we can stand firmly by our decisions.
“Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but not every opinion carries equal weight. Posterity will be kind to those who see possibilities before they become obvious.”
Headies postpones 18th edition
Animashaun’s comments come as the awards organisers prepare for the 18th edition of the ceremony.
The organisers initially scheduled the event for October 23, 2026, in Toronto, Canada. However, they recently postponed it to April 10 and 11, 2027.
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