Musicians Slow J and Pedro Mafama are the artists with the most nominations in the 6th edition of the PLAY – Portuguese Music Awards, which this year will distinguish the best in Light and Popular Music for the first time.
The PLAY nominees, whose winners will be announced on May 16 at the Coliseu dos Recreios in Lisbon, were announced today at a press conference in the room that will host the awards ceremony.
Slow J and Pedro Mafama are nominated in three of the 12 categories up for nomination. The two are competing in the category of Song of the Year – with “Where U @” and “Preço Certo”, respectively – and Best Male Artist.
Slow J is also nominated for Album of the Year, with “Afro Fado”, and Pedro Mafama for Best Music Video, with “Estrada”, directed by André Caniços.
In the Song of the Year category, whose winner is chosen by the public, in addition to Slow J and Pedro Mafama, Ivandro is also nominated, with “Chakras”, a song featuring Julinho KSD, Bárbara Tinoco, with “Chamada não atendida”, Bárbara Bandeira, with her duet with Ivandro “Como tu”, and Nuno Ribeiro, Calema and Mariza, with “Maria Joana”.
Calema are, along with D.A.M.A., Os Quatro e Meia and Wet Bed Gang, nominated in the Best Group category.
In addition to Slow J and Pedro Mafama, Ivandro and T-Rex are also competing for the PLAY for Best Male Artist.
In addition to Slow J’s “Afro Fado”, T-Rex’s “Cor d’Água”, Carminho’s “Portuguesa” and Jorge Palma’s “Vida” are nominated for PLAY Best Album.
Carminho is one of the PLAY nominees for Best Female Artist. In addition to the fado singer, Ana Moura and Bárbara Bandeira are also competing for the A Garota Não award.
In addition to “Estrada” by Pedro Mafama, “Escura noite” by Peculiar and directed by Maria Beatriz Castelo, “Fim do Nada” by Mizzy Miles, with T-Rex and Zara G, directed by XZ, and “Ressaca Bailada” by Expresso Transatlântico and directed by Sebastião Varela are also nominated for the PLAY Best Music Video.
Expresso Transatlântico are also competing in the category of Breakthrough Artist, for which Ana Lua Caiano, Jüra and LEO2745 are also nominated.
This year a new category has been created: the Light and Popular Music Award, in which Zé Amaro, with “Meu coração de cowboy apaixonado”, Sons do Minho, with “Recomeçar”, Bandalusa, with “Sapato apertado”, and José Malhoa, with “Vamos ò baile”, are competing.
In the 6th edition of PLAY, the Lusophone Prize will once again be awarded, with Luísa Sonza competing with the song “Chico”, Matuê with “Conexões de máfia” featuring Rich The Kid, Giulia Be with “Perfeita” and Dennis with “Tá OK”, featuring MC Kevin O Chris.
On May 16, the Best Fado Album will also be revealed, which will be chosen from “Bela Ensemble”, by the Bela Ensemble, “Mãe”, by Cristina Branco, “O abraço da guitarra”, by António Chainho, and “Terra que vale o céu”, by Ricardo Ribeiro.
“Chromosome” by Mário Costa, “Hexagon” by the Axes sextet, “Playing wuth Beethoven” by Carlos Bica and “The River” by the João Paulo Esteves da Silva Trio are competing for the PLAY for Best Jazz Album.
“Celebrando Nela Maíssa, Helena Sá e Costa & Olga Prats”, by Trio de Damas, “Folia Nova”, by Sete Lágrimas, “Lamentos”, by António Pinho Vargas, and “Windsor Project”, by Ricardo Pires, are competing for PLAY Best Classical/Erudite Music Album.
The 12 categories subject to nomination are joined by the Career Award, awarded by the PLAY Awards promoters, and the Critics’ Award, whose winner is chosen by a panel of music journalists.
The nominees in the Song of the Year, Best Female Artist, Best Male Artist, Best Group and Best Album categories were chosen by the Play Academy, which brings together around 200 music industry professionals, “from a list of 30+, based on volumetric sales and radio airplay criteria for 2023”.
The nominees in the Best Fado Album, Light and Popular Music Award, Best Music Video, Best Jazz Album and Best Classical/Erudite Music Album categories were chosen by specialized committees.
These five categories, as well as the Revelation Artist and Lusophony Award, whose nominees were chosen by the Academy, were subject to applications from artists and publishers, “and in this edition the organization received 842, a record number, with an increase of 57% compared to 2023 (537)”.
The PLAY – Portuguese Music Awards, created in 2019, are promoted by Audiogest, which manages and represents the rights of multinational, national and independent publishers, as well as GDA, the entity that manages the rights of artists, performers and performers.
