For its first edition, this event, which intends to reward “popular culture” will be held at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris this Thursday and will be broadcast on YouTube, Twitch, 6ter and delayed on W9.
Snubbed by the Victoires de la Musique, the actors of French hip-hop will be celebrated this Thursday, at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, on the occasion of the Flames, the first edition of a ceremony which intends to reward “popular culture”.
Tiakola, a rising figure on the French rap scene, is the big favorite of the event, organized by the Yard agency and the specialized media Booska-P. The rapper from La Courneuve offers himself eight nominations – including the prestigious Flames of “album of the year” and “male artist of the year” among the 21 categories announced. He is closely followed by the Belgian artist Damso, who wins five.
Among female artists, Ronisia comes out on top with three nominations, including that of “female artist of the year” and “female revelation of the year”. The Cape Verde-born r’n’b sensation is followed by twice-nominated Aya Nakamura.
To arrive at this selection, the list of nominees went through three main stages. For the first, several players in the music and entertainment industry were able to register their candidates for free in the various categories “provided that they correspond to the pre-established selection criteria”, it is specified. on the site flames.
Once composed, this list then underwent an initial pre-selection in which “120 experts and generalist and specialized media” participated.
“It looked a bit like the platform to which Internet users had access later”, details with BFMTV.com Issam, founder of the media The Nugget, who participated in this first selection.
“We had a predefined list of about sixty artists or projects released in 2022 by category and we had to choose ten for each.”
With its media specializing in the promotion of emerging artists followed by more than 28,000 followers on Twitter, Issam considers himself “flattered” to have been asked alongside heavyweights such as Raplume, The world or Clique.
“To think that the organizers took into account the opinion of small media with different editorial lines and audiences to obtain a very homogeneous result, I find that really good”, he underlines.
Nearly 135,OOO voters
Unveiled at the end of March, this second pre-selection was subjected to a final skimming with a specialized jury and the public, whose votes each represent 50% of the final result.
Nearly 135,000 Internet users were thus invited to vote – between March 27 and April 10 – on a platform, created for the occasion. They were able to define their top 3 in 13 of the 21 categories. The other 8 categories were left to the professional jury.
“A top 3 and not a single winner so that even artists who are unanimously recognized as brilliant but less popular benefit from the impact of the large fanbases who therefore have to raise three names rather than vote only for their only champion”, indicate the organizers of the Flames on their site.
At the same time, a jury made up of 23 music professionals (13 women and 10 men) including representatives of record companies, journalists, representatives of institutions… also voted to elect their top trio overall. of the 21 categories.
Beyond the heavyweights of rap/r’n’b/new pop, such as Damso, Dinos, Aya Nakamura or Gazo, the Flammes nominations also highlight rising figures in music like So La Lune, MadeInParis, miss lou or Maureen.
Among the nominees we also find artists already present at the Victoires de la Musique in 2023 such as Stromae – awarded the prize of male artist of the year – as well as the rapper Tiakola, whose defeat against Pierre de Maere in the category “Male revelation of the year” had annoyed many rap listeners.
“2022 was Tiakola’s year so it makes sense that we find him at the Victoires de la musique; even if he should have won in my opinion; and everywhere in Les Flammes”, assures Issam.
However, unlike the Victoires de la Musique, the rappers who usually dominate the nominations of this ceremony such as Orelsan (nominated 17 times) or Bigflo and Oli (nominated 6 times) have not even been subjected to the pre -selections. A “logical” absence, according to Issam.
“The audience for the two ceremonies is different. And the target audience of Les Flammes is simply not the same as that of Bigflo and Oli or Orelsan”, advances the founder of La Pépite, who also notes the absence of another major artist, Marseille rapper Jul.
“We are all impatient”
To find out which artists will bring their “Flame” home, meet this Thursday, May 11 live from the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. It will also be possible to follow the first edition of the ceremony live from 8:30 p.m. on Booska-P’s YouTube channel as well as simultaneously on 6Play and delayed from 11 p.m. on the W9 channel.
The event, presented by comedian Fadily Camara, will also be broadcast live on Twitch during a special broadcast, hosted by streamers Maxime Biaggi and Grimkujow.
“It’s the first year for the Flames and we can’t wait to see what it’s going to be like,” concludes Issam.
