Sauti Sol, Africa's biggest act, have missed out on a crucial nomination
to extend their sway beyond the continent. PHOTO | FILE
Sauti Sol, Africa's biggest act, have missed out on a crucial nomination to extend their sway beyond the continent.
The
band, who bagged the MTV EMA best African Act Award failed to clinch a
nomination to the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards Worldwide Act.
The
continent, which was represented by Kenyan band Sauti Sol, was toppled
by the Middle East in the last voting that ended on Wednesday.
A
statement by MTV EMA on Thursday unveiled the 10 final nominees
representing various regions who are set to battle it out again to be
the overall winner in the category.
Sauti Sol was representing Africa and was up against representatives from the Middle East and India.
Mohammed
Assaf, a Palestinian singer who won the second season of “Arab Idol”
last year, was the first Palestinian to win in the reality show, beating
out an Egyptian and a Syrian.
The 24-year-old singer grew up in a refugee camp in Gaza and was known for singing in weddings and private events.
LONG ROAD TO STARDOM
During
the “Arab Idol” competition, the young artiste wowed audiences,
including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who instructed embassies
to urge expatriates to vote for him, calling him "the pride of the
Palestinian and Arab nation".
His
rise to become the show’s finalist did not start well, as he was locked
out of the auditions for arriving past the deadline due to
border-crossing issues while on his way to Egypt by road.
Assaf
jumped the wall but was still unable to secure a number for the
auditions. He started singing for other contestants outside the audition
room where one of them handed him his own number, saying he knew he
would reach the finals.
He has since
done several songs, most of them patriotic, with his hit "Ya Tair Al
Tayer", Arabic for “Flying Bird” or “Free Bird”, stating that one day
Palestine will be free.
The likely
reason Sauti Sol missed out on the big prize was that the rest of Africa
failed to vote for them while the Middle East galvanized their votes
for Assaf.
The group have through their Facebook page sent a congratulatory message to Assaf.
Here is the list of the 10 nominees for the different regions:
Mohammed Assaf- Africa/India/Middle East
5 Seconds of Summer- Australia/New Zealand
Revolverheld - Europe Central
Dawid Kwiatkowski - Europe East
One Direction - Europe North
Alessandra Amoroso - Europe South
B.A.P - Japan/Korea
Dulce Maria - Latin America
Fifth Harmony - North America:
Bibi Zhou - Southeast Asia/China & Hong Kong/Taiwan
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