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Yola Semedo wins four Angola Music Awards

By Music In Africa Foundation

03 Jun 2015 - 07:08

Yola Semedo was the big winner at the third edition of the Angola Music Awards (AMA), held on Saturday 30 May in Saurimo, Angola. The singer earned four statuettes, including Best Female Artist and Album of the Year. She also won in the genre categories of Best Kizomba for ‘Volta Amor’ and Best Semba for ‘Você me abana’.

Yola Semedo with one of her four AMA trophies. Photo: Facebook

The Angolan singer was the favourite for the night, competing in seven categories in this third edition of the gala. During the gala, questioned by the Lusa news agency, Semedo said the awards were proof that her work over the last year had been a huge success. “I embraced this project with love and here’s the reward for the great sacrifice,” said the singer in Portuguese.

Other female voices were also among the winners, such as as Anna Joyce (Artist of the Year and Best R&B/Soul) and Bruna Tatiana, who won Song of the Year for ‘Meu Tudo’. NGA was awarded the Best Rap/Hip-Hop and Male Artist of the Year trophies. During the gala, the organisers also awarded the Career Award to singer Bonga (Barceló de Carvalho) for his outstanding contribution to Angolan music over several decades.

This year’s edition of Angola Music Awards was the first to be held outside Luanda, in this case to Saurimo, the provincial capital of Lunda Sul, about 1000 km from Luanda. Many thousands of music fans were gathered outside the event venue, prompting a strong police presence. The event was organized by Grupo Mener in partnership with the Provincial Government of Lunda Sul and the Ministry of Culture and Youth and Sports.

The full list of winners at the 2015 Angola Music Awards 2015 is as follows: