Kanya King's Blog

WOW! I can’t believe it’s all over…and what a night it was! Hosted impeccably by Reggie Yates and US songstress Keri Hilson in Scotland, this year’s show truly was a celebration of British talent with some phenomenal performances from Keri Hilson, Kelly Rowland and David Guetta, Tinchy Stryder, Chipmunk, JLS and N-Dubz, to name a few! I’m always pleased to see our Newcomers go on to do fantastically well, and last year’s Best Newcomer, Chipmunk, walked away with the Best Hip Hop award – a great achievement, especially considering he was up against such strong international competition such as Eminem, Drake and Kanye West. The 2009 MOBO Awards showed the world that British urban talent is by no means to be underestimated.

We also premiered an exceptional performance of War Child’s collective, Young Soul Rebel’s version of ‘I Got Soul’, which had most of the UK scene up on stage for a very worthy cause – and it’s a very catchy song, which I will no doubt be humming for weeks to come!

There was not a dry eye in the house as MOBO hosted the only European tribute to Michael Jackson, introduced by his sister La Toya. The touching performances celebrated the King of Pop’s outstanding legacy to the music industry. A real family affair, brother Jermaine Jackson, sang ‘Smile’ – Michael’s favourite song, and accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award from La Toya on Michael’s behalf. Diversity put together an energetic Jackson-inspired dance routine which wowed the crowds, and Shaheen Jafargholi sang ‘I’ll be there’ for the first time since he performed for over a billion people at Michael Jackson’s memorial in June – he’s achieved a lot in his 12 years!! La Toya commented during the show: ‘Michael would have loved this.’ That was just so fantastic to hear.

We’ve had great feedback from the show and moving to Scotland was a fantastic experience. So thank you to our Scottish partners and friends: EventScotland and Glasgow City Marketing Bureau. Huge thanks also to Lebara Mobile, our glamorous hosts, the performers, guest presenters, the MOBO fans, who took the time to vote for this year’s winners on www.mobo.com, and to everyone involved in making the show such a roaring success.

Last and by no means least, massive Congratulations to all our 2009 worthy winners!!

KK