It’s been announced that the inaugural Billboard Arabia Music Awards(BBAMAs) is set for Dec. 11 at the King Fahad Cultural Center in Riyadh. Part of the first-ever Riyadh Music Week, an initiative bringing together the global music community for a series of music festivals and events, the forthcoming awards ceremony will recognize the top Arab artists and music of the year.
Unlike traditional music award shows, the BBAMA winners will be selected based on their ranking on Billboard Arabia’s charts, including the Hot 100 and Artist 100, as well as the newly launched dialect charts. These include Khaleeji, Egyptian, Levantine, and Magharebi, in addition to genre-specific charts, such as Arabic Hip-Hop, Arabic Indie, and Mahraganat.
“I am proud to announce the first edition of the Billboard Arabia Music Awards. As one of the fastest growing music hubs, Riyadh is the perfect location to celebrate the achievements of Arab artists around the world,” Rami M. Zeidan, managing director of Billboard Arabia, said in a released statement. “Audiences will experience the diversity of Arab music firsthand through live performances. They will see their favorite artists like never before. This is what BBAMAs are all about: ensuring that Arab artists, their music and their stories receive the well-deserved recognition both regionally and globally.”
The BBAMAs will also include live performances and surprise collaborations, featuring both established and emerging artists, as well as some of the biggest international artists, which haven’t been revealed yet.
According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, the Middle East and North Africa is the fastest-growing music region in the world, a fact that wasn’t lost on Billboard when it decided to expand into the region. Launched in June 2023 as a partnership between Billboard and the Saudi Research Media Group (SRMG), Billboard Arabia is on a staunch mission to highlight the musical excellence of Arab artists and to ensure they are heard all over the world.
