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Top 10 Most Popular Music Awards in the World
Most Popular Music Awards in the World- The music/entertainment industry is undoubtedly filled with so many talents, both legendary and upcoming. The efforts put into making great quality music audios and videos are massive; it literally takes a village!
In a bid to recognize and appreciate these efforts, awards are organized and awarded to deserving talents, based on different award patterns (i.e fan votes, panel, e,t,c).
What is a Music Award?
A Music Award is an award/prize given to celebrate distinction or uniqueness in music. Awards vary from country to country and may be restricted to certain music genres or specifications.
For example, the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Award (AMVCA) is a highly anticipated award in Nigeria. It is organized to honor outstanding achievements in Television and Film.
One peculiarity of this award is that it is restricted to Africa alone. In the same vein, some other awards may be restricted by territories and contents.
This article however focuses on the most popular awards in the world.
What is the Most Popular Award in the World?
The Grammys- The Grammy Awards is the most popular music award across the globe. It features talents from every country and is highly anticipated all over the world. We will see more about the Grammys later in this article.
Top 10 Most Popular Music Awards in the World
The list below shows the top 10 most popular music awards in the world.
10. NME Awards
9. CMA Awards
8. American Music Award
7. World Music Award
6. International Classical Music Award
5. BET Awards
4. Billboard Music Awards
3. MTV Video Music Award
2. BRIT Awards
1. Grammy Awards
10. NME Awards
Country: United Kingdom
Organizer(s): NME (New Musical Express) Magazine
The NME Award is known to celebrate and honor outstanding achievements in the music industry. Its sarcastic touch is part of what makes this award a highly-anticipated one across the globe.
It is usually hosted in a funny manner and includes awkward categories such as “Villian of the Year” and “Worst Record”. The sarcasm can also be seen in the structure of the trophy which is shaped as an extended middle finger.
Categories in the NME award include:
- Best Track
- Best Album
- Best British Band
Some recipients of the NME awards include Ariana Grande, Muse, Oasis, and David Bowie.
9. CMA Awards
Zac Brown Band on the red carpet at “The 55th Annual CMA Awards” on Wednesday November 10, 2021 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
Country: United States
Organizer(s): Country Music Association
CMA (Country Music Association) award is presented to country music artists and broadcasters as a way of recognizing excellent achievements in the country music field.
The nominees and winners are determined by over 7000 professional industry members of the CMA. The award is the first ever to promote an individual genre of music- it began in 1958. It is also the longest-running annual music award show on network television. CMA award has honored lots of artists so far, in the following categories:
- New Artist of the Year
- Vocal Duo of the Year
- Vocal Group of the Year
- Vocalist of the Year (Male and Female Category)
- Entertainer of the year
- Music event of the year, and many more.
8. American Music Awards
Country: U.S.A
Organizer(s): ABC Network
The American Music Award is organized to honor and celebrate both the legendary and newest talents on the contemporary music scene.
It was first created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC network when their contract to host the Grammys expired.
Some spectacular categories in the American music award are:
- Favorite Trending Song
- Favorite Pop Duo or Group
- Favorite Latin Duo or Group
- Favorite Latin Song
- Favorite Dance/Electronic Artist
Some artists have become regular recipients of awards in a particular category over the years. They include Taylor Swift and Justin Beiber. See others in the table below:
| Artiste | Category | Number of Wins |
| Taylor Swift | Artist of the Year | 6 |
| Justin Beiber | Collaboration of the year | 3 |
| Kenny Rogers | Song of the Year | 5 |
| Reba McEmpire | Favorite Female Artist- Country | 10 |
7. World Music Award
The Word Music Award is presented to best-selling talents in various categories and across various major territories in the world. It is hosted in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
The award has the following major categories:
- Legend Award– This category honors “legends” who have made outstanding achievements in the music industry over time. Some notable talents in this category are Mariah Carey, Destiny’s child, Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, and the late Whitney Houston.
- Diamond Award– This particular category honors artists who have sold up to 100,000,000 albums throughout their careers. So far, artists like Mariah Carey, the late Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, Bon Jovi, and The Beatles have been honored in this category.
- Millennium Award– This was presented to best-selling recording artists in the year 2000. Only two artists received the millennium award at the time- Michael Jackson and Mariah Carey. The next category may be held in the year 3000- definitely for the next generation of artists.
6. International Classical Music Awards
International Classical Music Awards is hosted in various countries across the globe and awards talents in the following categories:
- Lifetime Achievement
- Artist of the Year
- Discovery Award
- Yung Artiste of the Year
- Composer Award
- Label of the Year
- Recording of the Year, and
- Special Achievement Award, among others.
5. BET Awards
Country: United States
Organizer(s): BET
BET Awards is an annual award event held in celebration of African Americans who have made notable marks in music, acting, and sports among other categories.
Although this is not a “strictly music” award, BET is still the third most popular award in the music industry and a much-anticipated one at that.
Some categories in the annual BET awards include:
- Album of the Year
- Best Male Hip-hop Artiste
- Best Female Hip-hop Artiste
- Best R&B Artiste (Male and Female Category), e.t.c
Notable winners of the prestigious BET awards include Burna Boy (International Act, 2019), and Megan Thee Stallion (Female Hip-hop Artiste, 2019).
BET is short for the “Black Entertainment Television” network.
4. Billboard Music Awards
Country: United States
Organizer(s): Billboard
Billboard Music Award seeks to honor the “hottest names” in the music industry. It awards talents who have achieved notable success via album and song sales and streams, touring, radio play, and social media engagement.
The Award recognizes talents in the following categories:
- Top Billboard 200 Artiste
- Top Artiste (Male and Female category)
- Top New Artiste, e.t.c
3. MTV Video Music Award
Country: United States
Organizer(s): MTV
MTV Video Music Award (VMA) is organized to honor the best talents in the music video medium. The awards include categories like:
- Video of the Year
- Artiste of the Year
- Best New Artist in a Video
- Global Icon Award
- Group of the Year
- Song of the Year, and
- Push Performance of the Year, among others.
Some notable MTV VMA winners include Justin Beiber (Artist of the year, 2021), and Olivia Rodrigo (New Artiste of the Year, 2021).
2. BRIT Awards
Country: United Kingdom
Organizer(s): British Phonographic Industry
BRIT award is the highest profile music award in the UK. The BRITs have been an annual award ceremony since 1982 when John Lennon and Randy Crawford bagged awards for Contribution to Music and British Female Solo Artiste respectively.
BRIT is short for British Record Industry Trusts and the award is awarded by the British Phonographic Industry to recognize the best in British and International music.
Some categories of BRIT awards include:
- British Album of the Year
- British Artiste of the Year
- BRIT award for British Dance Act
- Alternative/Rock Act
BRIT Award is the second most popular and most prestigious award in the world today.
1. Grammy Awards
Olivia Rodrigo wins big at the 2022 Grammys
Country: United States of America
Organizer(s): The Recording Academy
The Grammy Awards (Grammy/Grammys) is a yearly award ceremony held in the U.S every year. The award seeks to recognize and appreciate outstanding achievements in the U.S music industry. The Grammy was formerly called the “Gramophone Award” in 1959 when the first edition was held, over 60 years ago.
The Grammys are so prestigious that a win at the event can earn a musician the well-respected title of “Grammy award-winner”.
Some categories of talents awarded at the Grammys include
- Grammy Legend Award
- Best Urban/Alternative Performance
- Best Instrumental Arrangements Accompanying Vocalists
- Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
- Song of the Year
Music icons like Beyonce, Adele, Angélique Kidjo, and many other artists have bagged several Grammy awards over the years. The Grammy is every musician’s goal across the globe. Late Opera Legend, Georg Solti is currently the artist with the highest number of Grammy wins. Beyonce, on the other hand, is the female artist with the most Grammy Awards.
Summary
The aforementioned are the Top 10 Most Popular Music Awards in the World and the majority are organized in the United States and the United Kingdom. This is not to say that other countries do not have such prestigious events, however, the most popular music awards are held in the U.S and UK respectively.
For the purpose of emphasis, here’s a list of the Top 10 Most Popular Music Awards in the World:
1. Grammy Awards
2. BRIT Awards
3. MTV Video Music Award
4. Billboard Music Award
5. BET Awards
6. International Classical Music Award
7. World Music Award
8. American Music Award
9. CMA Award
10. NME Award