SOUTH AFRICA-based Zimbabwean amapiano star, Charmaine Shamiso Mapambiro, popularly known as Sha Sha in the showbiz industry has written her own piece of history, by becoming the first local artiste to win a BET award.
Sha Sha won the 2020 BET Viewer’s Choice: Best New International Act award at a ceremony held virtually in Los Angeles on Sunday. The ceremony was held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic and global lockdown regulations.
The BET awards honour and celebrate Black excellence in entertainment and sport are organised by the Black Entertainment Television, a prominent television network targeting African American audiences in the United States.
The Bulawayo born singer proved to be the people’s choice as she amassed more votes from the voting system as she won the gong ahead of Rema from Nigeria, Celeste from the United Kingdom, Young T and Bugsey from the United Kingdom, Hatik and Stacy from France in the awards’ Viewer’s Choice: Best New International Act category.
The Amapiano star, a few minutes after she won, took to Twitter to thank people for voting.
“What just happened!!! A BET thank you! My people back home, all over the world man,” she posted.
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Different social media platforms were buzzing on Monday, as Zimbabweans basked in the glory of Sha Sha’s win.
Sha Sha fought hard to be where is, as she had to choose to either follow her parents’ wishes for her career or to continue with music.
She had to leave her parents’ home and stay with an aunt in Harare.
While, in Harare, she started off as a receptionist then became a waiter in an effort to try and make ends meet before getting a breakthrough of her career when she connected with singer and producer, Audius Mtawarira.
National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) director Nicholas Moyo, in a statement, said Sha Sha’s award did not come as a surprise to the council as they are aware of the amount of hard work and dedication that she has put in her artistic works.
“We feel that this award is in recognition of her talent and amazing vocal ability. Any good work will speak for itself, the world has made a determination and we acknowledge the endorsement,” he said.
“Sha Sha’s sincerity and passionate desire to excel have borne such fruitful results as she kept her dedication firm and did not budge or give up at any time despite various challenges she faced in her artistic journey which today have earned her deserved global recognition.”
Moyo said Sha Sha’s award is also an endorsement on the growth and development of the arts sector in Zimbabwe and Africa.
“We truly believe that this award is just the beginning of many such successes in Sha Sha’s career and we wish her all the very best for her future endeavours. We also call upon other creatives in various sectors to take encouragement from this success to continue with their creative work despite the various lockdown conditions that have had to be imposed by the government to limit the spread of the COVID19 disease,” he said.
Arts promoter Benjamin Nyandoro said: “Congratulations to Sha Sha, she has confirmed beyond that she deserved it. It also goes without saying, the most appreciated role by South Africa in her journey this far and to also call upon Zimbabwe to do more in embracing local talent. Zimbabwe is celebrating, Africa is celebrating.”