The Brit Asia TV Music Awards, also known as Brit Asia TV World Music Awards or the abbreviation BAMA, is an awards show that has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 2010 (except in 2016), usually in October. The awards show is produced by Brit Asia TV. Award winners are decided by public voting on a website from a list of nominees presented by the event organizers at a nomination party.[1][2] Website desiblitz called it "UK's largest celebration of South Asian music"[3] and "the biggest awards in the British Asian Music calendar".[4]
History
The inaugural edition of the BAMA was in 2010, two years after the establishment of the Brit Asia TV channel in April 2008.[5] The event was held in Birmingham, the so-called "Bhangra capital of the world".[6] Birmingham also held most of the following editions,[7][8][9][10][11] except the 2011 and 2018 editions held in London,[12][13] and the 2019 edition held in Wembley.[3] The editions between 2012 and 2017 were all held at the same venue, the Utilita Arena Birmingham (under different names).[7][8][9][10][11]
The first event was hosted by comedian Hardeep Singh Kohli,[5] as were the 2011 and 2012 editions.[12][7] Other hosts who appeared more than once include Sunny and Shay, co-hosting in 2014 and 2015, and Sukhi Bart who hosted the 2014, 2015 and 2017 events.[9][10][11]
The 2016 event, originally planned to be held on 5 November 2016[14] was cancelled due to Brit Asia TV re-branding and restructuring. It was rescheduled to 4 March 2017, thus making it the 2017 event, cancelling the 2016 one.[15]
The 2019 event was the first event to have a title sponsor, with the title "BritAsia TV Presents Kuflink Music Awards 2019".[16] As of August 2020[update], the latest edition of the BAMA was the 2019 event,[3] and no nominees were published, nor was any other announcement made regarding the 2020 event.[17] Another event organized by BritAsia TV, the BritAsia TV Punjabi Film Awards 2020, was postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic concerns.[18]
The 2011 event was at the HMV Hammersmith Apollo, London, on 1 October 2011. It was hosted by Hardeep Singh Kohli.[12] The nominations party was held on 25 August 2011 in Birmingham[2] Award winners were:[12]
The 2012 event was held at the National Indoor Arena, Birmingham on 6 October 2012. It was hosted by Hardeep Singh Kohli.[7] The nominations party was held on 23 August 2012 at the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham.[19] Award winners were:[7]
The 2013 event was held on 12 October 2013 at the National Indoor Arena, Birmingham. It was hosted by Kulvinder Ghir.[8] The nominations party was held on 4 September 2013 at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham.[20] Award winners were:[8]
The 2014 event was held on 4 October 2014 at the National Indoor Arena, Birmingham. It was hosted by Sunny and Shay and by Sukhi Bart.[9] The nominations party was held at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground on 28 August 2014.[21] Award winners were:[9]
Best Newcomer: Bloodline
Best International Act: Diljit Dosanjh
Best Non-Asian Music Producer: Mumzy Stranger
Best Music Video: "Daddy Da Cash" by RDB feat. T-Pain
The 2015 event was held on 3 October 2015 at Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham. It was hosted by Sunny and Shay and by Sukhi Bart.[10] The nominations announcement party was held at Villa Park, Birmingham, on 5 September 2015.[22] Award winners were:[10]
Best World Single: "Patiala Peg" by Diljit Dosanjh
Lifetime Achievement Award: Gurcharan Mall
2017
The 2017 event was held on 4 March 2017 at Utilita Arena Birmingham. It was hosted by Sukhi Bart and Mandy Takhar.[11] The nominations party was held at the Park Regis Hotel in Birmingham on 10 February 2017.[23] Award winners were:[11]
The 2018 event was held on 6 October 2018 at Park Plaza Westminster Bridge in London. It was hosted by Preeya Kalidas and Apache Indian.[13] Award winners were:
The 2019 event, originally planned for 28 September 2019,[17] was held on 30 November 2019 at SSE Arena, Wembley.[3] It was hosted by Jassa Ahluwali and Kiran Rai.[24] The event was sponsored by Kuflink. Award winners were:[3]
