SA: Crown Gospel Music Awards adds two new categories

Designed to appreciate outstanding players in the South African gospel industry, the awards have introduced the Best Itende and Best Clap-&-Tap categories, which are open for nominations.

“We have noticed the remarkable growth of this type of gospel music in the lengths and breaths of our country, and continentally,” a press statement from the organisers reads.

“There is a great demand for these two categories. The two categories have proven to be popular in the gospel music genre and the public is not only inclined to it but would also love to see the talent around these categories being recognised, especially on a platform such as the Crown Awards.”

The Crown Gospel Awards also introduced two special categories: Artist of the Decade and Song of the Decade. The two categories are not under nominations and the public will vote for them via SMS.

Voting for the special categories will be done as follows:

Gospel Artist of the Decade: SMS artist of the decade + artist name to 34069 (SA only).

Gospel Song of the Decade: SMS song of the decade + song name to 34069 (SA only).

SMSs cost R1.50.

Meanwhile, the nomination process for the SABC Crown Gospel Music Awards Crown is underway and applicants are encouraged to submit their forms before 30 September.

Who is eligible to enter?

• The awards are open to all recording companies, artists, producers, engineers, composers and promoters who are citizens or permanent residents of South Africa. The category for Best of Africa Gospel is open to all companies and artists in African (outside SA’s boarders).
• Only works that have been released in the past 36 months and have not been nominated before in a particular category of the SABC Crown Gospel Music Awards will be accepted.
• The Best Classic of All Time category entry should be a song that has been in existence for seven years or more.
• International collaboration and productions are also encouraged to enter, provided they are predominantly by South African artists or producers.

Entry fees and prizes

The entry fee for Best Gospel Artist and Best Gospel Song is R1 500 ($120). The winner in each of the two categories will get R10 000. Entry fees for all other categories are R1 200. Winners of other categories will each receive R5 000. Entry fees will not be refunded for disqualified entries.

Artists who are nominated in any category will receive:

• One night accommodation at a five-star hotel.
• Two VIP tickets to the main event and cocktail after party.

Applicants can access nomination forms on the Crown Gospel Music official website. They can also call or send a WhatsApp message directly to 081 846 1824, call 031 306 0015 or email [email protected].