The Lebara Mobile UK Asian Music Awards 2011… let the voting commence!

Organisers of the Lebara Mobile UK Asian Music Awards 2011, which will honour and celebrate the best of British Asian Music, last night announced the start of the four month campaign of public voting and judging for the 15 categories. The winners will be announced on 10th March 2011 at a glittering gala ceremony.

The glamorous industry event was hosted by BBC Radio 1 and BBC Asian Network presenter, Nihal and stunning singer and BBC One’s Waterloo Road actress, Karen David, at top London night spot Alto. The event was also attended by Raghav, Blitzkrieg, Panjabi MC and Bonafide who demonstrated their support for the 9th annual Awards. The star-studded bash saw the crème de la crème of the music industry come together for some major announcements about the 9th Lebara Mobile UK Asian Music Awards.

The evening started with news that following an extremely successful partnership in 2010, international mobile services provider, Lebara Mobile has renewed its title sponsorship of the awards. Russell Atkinson, Managing Director, Lebara Mobile UK commented: “The Lebara Mobile UK Asian Music Awards, play an important role in recognising and celebrating the incredible talent that exists within the Asian community. We’re proud to be continuing our commitment to nurturing new talent and have exciting plans to ensure we give these role models an opportunity to shine.” As well as confirming its relationship with Lebara Mobile, the organisers also announced that the Awards would be moving to a brand new venue. After three amazing years at The Royal Festival Hall, the awards ceremony will take residence at one of the hottest music venues around, The Roundhouse in Camden. Having played host to such acclaimed artists such as Jay Z, Elton John, The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix, to name but a few, the Roundhouse will now open its doors to the Lebara Mobile UK Asian Music Awards on Thursday 10th March 2011.

On an evening filled with anticipation and a series of good news announcements, it was also confirmed that television channel B4U Music will be returning as media partner for the fourth year running. The Awards will also see renewed support from radio partner BBC Asian Network and online entertainment portal Desihits.com, both of which return for the second year, to provide special coverage in the lead up to the event and some surpriseson the night itself.

Abs Shaid, CEO and founder of the UKAMAs commented, “We have a lot of plans for 2011, and these four major announcements are just the start of the new look for 2011. We’ll make sure that everyone is kept up to speed with news as it happens, but this first stage is all about opening the Lebara Mobile UK Asian Music Awards up to the public and getting them to tell us who they actually think deserves to be nominated. Without their input we have no awards – it’s ‘artists’ fans that create the stars, so we really need to know who they want to put forward! All they need to do is log on to the website and add their recommendations against each category.”

As a taste of what the gala night promises to bring, the celebrity launch also featured a showcase of some of the finest British Asian talent, with exclusive performances throughout the night from the likes of soulful Sonna Rele who performed her track, ‘Can We Talk’, chart topping Bhangra sensation, Foji and R&B singer, Jag. Host for both the launch and the Gala Awards Ceremony on March 10th, BBC Radio 1 and BBC Asian Network presenter, Nihal praised the success of the launch, commenting, “It’s exciting to be a part of this event. I’ve watched the awards grow over the years. This is just the start of what’s to come… bring on March 2011!” Sultry singer and actress Karen David took time off from her busy filming schedule to co-host the launch and confirmed that she will also be joining Nihal on March 10th: “Tonight was a great trial run for Nihal and I. We’re both looking forward to getting back on the big stage to present the Lebara Mobile UK Asian Music Awards – it’s going to be a great night, with great performances and some well deserving winners!” The after party, hosted by Voodoo Entertainment included a show-stopping performance from Bhangra superstar Juggy D and music throughout the rest of the night from DJ H and DJ Kayper. Voting for each of the categories is now open to the public via the official website www.theukama.com.Voting lines will be open from midday on 26th November 2010 and will close at midnight on 21st January 2011. Fans will also be able to purchase tickets to the main event from www.chillitickets.com or www.voodooentertainment.co.uk and join industry representatives and celebrities to celebrate the achievements of UK Asian music.