Apple Music Awards: Wizkid Wins African Artist of The Year

On Tuesday November 29 2021, global music streaming giants Apple Music announced the winners of the 3rd edition of their annual music awards.

Canadian singer The Weeknd took home the award for Global Artist of the Year. Olivia Rodrigo won Breakthrough Artist of the Year, along with the best album award for her debut record Sour and the best song award for Drivers License.

This year, Apple added a new category of awards to recognize artists around the world who have “made the greatest impact culturally and on the charts in their respective countries and regions.”

The five Regional Artist of the Year awards went to Wizkid (Africa), Aya Nakamura (France), RIN (Germany), Official Hige Dandism (Japan) and Scriptonite (Russia).

With his win, Wizkid becomes the first Nigerian and African to win the Apple Music Artist of the Year for the region of Africa.

The accolade comes on the back of a hugely successful 2021 that’s seen Wizkid go on a global tour, break into the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10, receive RIAA Platinum Certification for his globetrotting record, Essence, and pick up two Grammy nominations.

Apple also announced its Podcasts Best of 2021. A Slight Change of Plans with Maya Shankar won for best show and Anything for Selena with Maria Garcia earned the newcomer award.

Speaking about the Podcasts awards, Apple said, “These deeply personal yet universally relatable shows grapple with profound change, perceptions of identity and self-worth, and the meaning of belonging, with thought-provoking discussions that reflect the human experience,”