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Stars including Vic Hope, award-winning UK rap icon Lethal Bizzle and Drea Mack, one of Vogue UK’s Musicians to Rule 2022, attended a glittering Youth Music Awards event in association with Hal Leonard Europe tonight at London’s Troxy.
The annual event celebrates a more diverse future in music, platforming emerging talent and leaders who may face barriers in the industry because of who they are, where they come from or what they do. With sponsors including TikTok, YouTube, Amazon Music and Dr Martens, the event calls for industry-wide collaboration and commitment to equal access to the music industry for the next generation.
Guests celebrated 12 award winners, judged by renowned music industry figures including BRIT-nominated singer-songwriter Mahalia, internationally acclaimed DJ duo BICEP and BBC Radio 1’s Sean Ellery. The Spit Game, who took home the live performance award, were treated to another surprise on the night, viz Lethal Bijl A special guest makes an appearance and takes the stage to present their award.
Performances include this year’s Rising Star Award winners (sponsored by Capitol Records), a four-piece band from Leeds, english teacher and the viral TikTok sensation Drea Mackwho closed the show with an electrifying performance.
Youth Music Awards 2022 Judge Mahalia commented: “I was very excited to be asked to judge this year’s Youth Music Awards. The awards not only recognize amazing talent from across the UK, but also provide an important opportunity for young voices to be heard. I know we’ll be hearing from many of these winners in the near future.”
Youth Music Awards 2022 Judges, Jordan Stephens Said: “Youth Music means a lot to my career. Mine and Harley’s first time performing as Rizzle Kicks was the result of an opportunity through Youth Music, who have been so supportive of us. I think it’s incredibly important for us to invest in grassroots organizations and most importantly I want to congratulate every young person and leader on the award.”
Youth Music is the UK’s leading youth music charity, championing equal access to music for over two decades.
Award winners include:
- The Spit Game, Live Performance Awards The winners, who are a collective of young creatives representing young black London culture. Spit Game includes rappers, singers, producers, videographers, designers and DJs. The awards were presented on the night by special guest presenter and UK rap icon, Lethal Bijl.
- Pembe Tokluhan, Social Action Award Winner, who has turned her life around to helping women, trans and non-binary people achieve gender equality backstage in the music industry. Pembe recently finished a European tour with Nile Rodgers.
- Amy Da Silva, Original Track Award (Solo) winner, Who created ‘Think Twice’ songwriting workshops helping young black artists explore their heritage. Amy has Portuguese heritage and wrote parts of the track in Portuguese. The song inspired him to write more and pursue a career in music.
- Kavan Hajirostami, Young Leader Award Winner, who came to the UK for asylum as a child years ago, after being forced to leave her home and family and make the perilous journey to safety alone. Kavian uses his talents as an Iranian daf player to inspire other musicians to learn about Iranian instruments.
- Girl Grind UK, She Don’t Did It, Outstanding Project Award Winner, pushing for equality and visibility for Black and Asian women, girls and non-binary people in the West Midlands music scene.
- Oceanside Records – Welcome to Torbay, Music Video Awards Winner, by public vote. Frustrated by the lack of local opportunities, the collective came together to create a track that challenges stereotypes of young people in ‘The Bay’ and their feelings of isolation and not being heard.
Last year’s winners have gone on to significant success, including TEE who won the Songwriters Award 2021 and now Little Simz’s touring crew, and Sans Sausages, winners of the Original Track Award (Solo Artist) 2021, who recently signed a deal with Decca Records.
Matt Griffiths, CEO of Youth Music, said: “The Youth Music Awards show what can be achieved when we invest in grassroots music nationwide, long-term. We are grateful to all our award nominees for making the music industry more diverse, more inclusive and more creative every day. We hope everyone will be as inspired as we are to give young people equal access to making, learning and earning music.”
Tom Venvell, Managing Director, UK and Germany, Hal Leonard Europe commented: “We are delighted to continue our important partnership with Youth Music, and are proud to once again sponsor this year’s awards. Through our association with Youth Music, we hope to enable more youth in the country to tune in to the joy of music.”
For a full list of winners and more information visit https://youthmusic.org.uk/awards
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