Awards season just got real
The South African Music Awards have unveiled the Top 5 nominees across the big categories — and Black Motion, Kelvin Momo, and Thandiswa Mazwai lead the race with five nods each. Sjava and Goldmax follow with three nominations apiece.
Why it matters
This Top 5 shortlist sets the tempo heading into the main ceremony: visibility, bookings, and sync interest all spike from here. For creators and teams, now’s the time to tighten metadata, polish live sets, and line up release plans around the awards cycle.
Who’s hot right now (at a glance)
- Black Motion — multi-category force, anchoring dance/electronic excellence.
- Kelvin Momo — amapiano auteur, stacking headline nods.
- Thandiswa Mazwai — iconic voice with a 2025 run resonating across critics and fans.
- Sjava — genre-blending storyteller with cross-category strength.
- Goldmax — club-to-charts momentum paying off with multiple nominations.
Read the announcement & full lists
Salute to all the nominees. If you make the music, make sure the system pays you for it — awards buzz is prime time to lock down splits, registrations, and sync-ready assets.
