Trace TV held a successful second awards ceremony – the Trace Urban Music Awards. Munya Vomo jetted off to Paris for the event.
LOCAL and international music personalities converged on Paris to appreciate one another’s works at the Trace Urban Music Awards. One of these personalities was hitmaker and producer Akon, who was elated to be the guest of honour at the awards ceremony.
“My roots are in Senegal and I was born in the USA so I can relate to Trace because they show what’s happening in both territories music-wise. My new business direction is in Africa and so I will be really happy to work with any artists that we get to learn about thanks to Trace TV. I am honoured to come out here and meet some of this incredible talent,” said the singer/rapper.
Known for his unusual coarse falsetto, Akon has worked with top artists over the years. His ability to adapt has seen him work with the Nigerian twins, P-Square, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson.
“I have to say that while I am still looking for more work on the collaborations front, I think I have already experienced the ultimate collaboration and that has to be with Michael Jackson. I mean, not everyone in the business can say they got a chance to work with him, so that definitely is one of my career highlights,” said Akon.
As a producer, one of his milestones has to be the discovery and development of Lady Gaga. The pair have since split and Akon says it was merely a business decision.
“I simply sold my share and let her do her own thing. We don’t have any beef whatsoever. It’s just that it was time, and we separated amicably. It’s unlikely that we will ever work together again but if her management asked me to then I would have no problems with that.”
A few weeks ago a news story broke alleging that Akon had performed in a plastic bubble in Ghana in an effort to avoid catching the Ebola virus. The allegation riled the singer and he contemplated taking legal action.
“At first I thought that it was funny how the media was responsible for this. If they really knew me then they would have known that it was a non-story. First of all, all my fans know that the bubble is part of my act. I have been doing it for years with no problems. Second, I only do it for a few minutes and the rest of the time I am out of the bubble. So if I was really trying not to catch Ebola, I should have arrived, performed and left in the bubble. I think what’s sad is the fact that someone can take a serious issue like Ebola and mock it through a misleading story like that. I am not going to stop using the bubble, in fact I am going to get a bigger one, with lights on it,” he explained.
Coming back to the music, the singer has not released an album since 2008 and he felt now was the time to do so. His upcoming project, Stadium, has been a long time coming and those who were in attendance at the Trace Music Awards got a taste of the man’s new single.
“I called it Stadium because for me music is where all cultures meet. It’s like a stadium. We come from different backgrounds but when there is good music our differences are the last thing on our minds and we simply enjoy what we are listening to. Originally the project was supposed to drop in 2010, with the World Cup in South Africa, but due to other commitments that I had at the time, I ended up holding it back. We are now looking at early 2015, and no later than April,” he said.
The winner of Trace TV’s first talent search show, Oshri Elmorish, was also in attendance and he got to rub shoulders with and perform on the same stage as Akon.
“I am humbled by the fact that not so long ago I used to dream about these things but today I am here on this stage. We are actually going to have a chat, Akon and I, to see if we can work on something for my album. So far it looks favourable,” he said.
For Elmorish, if this deal comes through it will be yet another gigantic step into superstardom as he is already on a wave of success.
“After winning the Trace Stars competition in South Africa, I have since moved to New York where I am working with Wyclef Jean on my new album. We have done a few songs together so far and I still can’t believe it. The guy is just too cool and he lets me put down all I want and then we rework it together with his input. He never makes me feel like he is taking over, which is pretty cool,” said Elmorish.
One of the tracks that he performed on the night of the awards was Avicii’s Wake Me Up which is a club hit. Elmorish’s dream is to do some work with them as well.
“Look, there is no limit to the number of people that I wish to get into the studio with. We have approached Avicii with my version of the song and we are still in talks around that. In the meantime I am excited about performing on the same stage with Akon. I am half-French and so it would be great to have some French fans know some of my music,” said the crooner.
The co-founder and chairman of Trace TV, Olivier Laouchez, said the entire venture was as successful as they had hoped it would be when they were planning it.
“We got more or less the same ratings as last year when a total of 500 000 people watched the show live. We were the second topic trending on Twitter after the Real Madrid and Liverpool game. We had a few technical problems but nothing major. We have big stars from the Francophone music scene with African origins and we also had megastars like Akon doing his new music for the first time, so our fans were spoiled for choice,” said Laouchez.
Regarding Oshri Elmorish’s meteoric rise, Laouchez described Trace TV’s unique approach when it comes to TV talent shows.
“We decided to invest in Oshri’s career and not be like other competitions that let go of the artist once a TV show is done. We have facilitated his move from Cape Town to New York where he is being mentored by Wyclef Jean. I think the first single should be ready by the end of the year. We have a number of great collaborations on the album. We are in discussions with Akon and Carlos Santana among others,” he said.
As it stands, the Trace Urban Music Awards remain predominantly a Francophone affair. Laouchez said there were plans to broaden the showcase to the English market.
“We are working on a project to make the Trace African Music Awards. We want to do something different from what’s going on right now. We were supposed to finalise a deal this year but because of the Ebola issue we could not.
“Hopefully next year we will be in a position to give the African market their own version of the Trace Urban Music Awards,” he said.