Risa Communications Manager And SAMAs Spokesperson Responds To Lady Du’s Recent Complaints. Amapiano vocalist Dudu “Lady Du” Ngwenya has been making headlines recently following claims she made about the SAMAs. She also said for her the SAMAs are “a big joke,” and she feels more acknowledged in other countries besides her own.
Risa Communications Manager and SAMAs spokesperson Lesley Mofokeng says the awards are entered by artists and record labels. “We are open for three months. If artists do not enter, how will they be considered?” he said.
“In response to Song Of the Year, she is talking about her song being streamed. Record of the Year is short listened based on Radio Monitor which tracks songs based on how often songs are played on the radio. Radio Monitor then presents 20 songs that are most played. We don’t consider streaming at this point of SAMAs. We rely on Radio Monitor. The question would then be did she enter the SAMAs and how did you perform on Radio Monitor? If she was in the top 20 and didn’t make it, then that would need to be required,” Lesley added.
Responding to Musa Keys’ manager being employed by the SAMAs, Lesley says he is employed by Clive Morris Productions who are contractors to the show. “Musa’s manager is a creative at CMP that was contracted to produce the SAMAs. He declared his relationship prior. We acknowledge this, accepted and approved it,” he shared.
“There are auditions involved in this as well. When we talk about Record of the Year, the public votes, and we have the top 10, and they select number one. This is done with a auditors BWC. Musa’s manager has nothing to do with the voting system. There is no relationship between Musa Keys winning and the production. He does not work for the SAMA office nor is he involved in votes.”
There have been some complaints from viewers that awards have been purchased. “It’s easy to say that the SAMAs are bought. You can’t accuse people of such things, it’s careless and irresponsible. The SAMAs have auditors in place. Judges of the SAMAs do not meet each other. They put their votes online and they move on. There are NDAs involved. It’s hard to see how the awards can be bought. If someone has received money for a vote, they need to step forward, so we can deal with the matter,” Lesley said.
