The hiatus is over. The PAM Awards are back. The questions are why the 2009 no-show? And what should the public and artistes expect in 2010?
It seems a long time since the glamour and pomp of the last Pearl of Africa Music Awards yet in reality, it’s just 17 months.
That was before the public fallout of the organisers. It was even feared that Zain, the main sponsors, had pulled out – forcing the cancellation of the 2009 showpiece.
However, organising committee chairman, Isaac Mulindwa Jr. views the situation differently and prefers to put 2009 to bed. “The PAM Awards have been active and what you call returning is just a continuation,” he says.
The 2010 PAM Awards, which kicked off on Tuesday with a cocktail at UMA Show Grounds will virtually have no changes even though there will be a shift in the way regional launches are held. “We are simply going to change the way we launch upcountry but the categories and voting system is not going to change,” adds Mulindwa.
PAM Awards comeback coincides with a period when sevral organisatins have come up to ‘fill the void’ created by the 2009 reprieve.
Top on the list are the Vision Awards – a brainchild of Mulindwa’s former protégé Joseph Batte. Surprisingly, Mulindwa praised the Vision Awards several times during our conversation, but each and every time he did, there was a subtle barb attached to it.
However, it doesn’t matter if the sight of the Vision Awards becoming an attraction sent Mulindwa and Co. into panic, or if it was indeed getting the PAM Awards house back to order. All that matters is that the awards are back. A music industry with Mulindwa’s quick wit is far more vibrant than one without him.
Now that the awards are back, critics will look out whether they still have what it takes to stick to the core values of improving the quality of Ugandan music, pull up the budding artistes and awarding excellence, too.
Before PAM Awards went for a sabbatical, there were questions as to how important they really were; if they were worthy of red-marking on the calendar or if they were just a successful venture whose success was a product of shrewd marketing.
So entrenched had PAM Awards become in the minds of Ugandans – in particular musicians – that winning any category was heaven or hell.
If the PAM Awards succeeds in addressing the pressing issues, those questions will vanish. They will attain a special status and probably become the biggest social event on the national calendar.
