2014 MTV AFRICA MUSIC AWARDS: Award show television in Africa finally embraces cellphones, selfies, and social media insanity.

Marlon Wayans, the American comedian and host of the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards broadcast live on Saturday night on MTV Base (DStv 322) wasn't kidding when - drifting on his back, over a sea of arms above the standing crowd - he shouted: "I want a selfie! I want a selfie!"

The pan-African music awards show, revived by Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Arica) after an absence of three years and broadcast across the African continent on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform, on Saturday night offered a tantalising glimpse of the rapidly changing way that live awards shows are adapting to African consumers who all have cellphones.

Where the producers of live award shows in, and made for Africa, shunned cellphones and the in-show use of it as a nuisance, distracting from the actual production, live TV presentations like the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards are now actively embracing the rapidly pervasive technology and connectivity in consumers' and TV viewers' hands.

Before the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards the organisers ominously asked/announced: "Does anyone here have a cellphone? ..."

The audience and crowd, TV critics, journalists and other press converging at Durban's International Convention Centre half-expected the question to be followed by the usual "please turn your cellphone off. Don't put it on silent but please turn it off since it's interfering with the show, which will be a live show".

Instead of an admonishment and a warning, the audience was encouraged to not only keep their cellphones on - but to use them.

They laughed and cheered - an indication of the funny unexpected, and opposite directive that they were expecting to hear.

It marks a massive departure for shows of this nature in Africa and South Africa, as awards shows on television - so called "appointment television" which are watched live - are proliferating across the continent.

Producers, TV executives and platforms as well as channel operators and distributors no longer just want African viewers to merely tune in - they want the viewing figures yes, but also the resulting, parallel buzz generated from social media.

Welcome to television that's also trending.

Formerly at wit's end with recalcitrant studio audiences who didn't switch their cellphones off, producers of shows - especially big awards shows - have not just adopted an attitude of "if you can't fight them, join them", but are now pro-actively courting crowds and audience members with special hashtags and sticky ongoing social engagement integration during shows.

Two weeks after host Nico Panagio at the live Survivor South Africa: Champions finale on M-Net asked viewers to send questions on Twitter, Facebook and WeChat which he got contestants to answer during the live show, Marlon Wayans actively egged on both viewers at home and the in-crowd at the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards to hashtag the show on Twitter and to send him questions.

It marks a dramatic and ongoing shift for big budget tentpole television in South Africa and Africa as TV channels and producers realise the power, and try to come to grips with, the real-time second screen experience where TV viewers and fans are engaging with each other while they're watching and experiencing a made-for-TV event.

Because this type of programming is television which compels viewers to watch it live or miss out on the news and buzz-making moments, social media integration has now become a massive element of the measure of the overall success of award shows.

Alex Okosi, the senior vice president and managing director of VIMN Africa, actively courted the press and viewers to use social media for the 2014 MAMA's.

"It bring an amazing shift to the offering, says Tim Horwood, the creative director for VIMN Africa and channel director of MTV Base.

"It enables us to engage with our audience on multiple platforms. We've got quite a big digital, social media element to the show. Because we are live, we can engage the continent simultaneously and that is what the MTV Africa Music Awards is about - it's about bringing Africa together for once celebration," says Tim Horwood.

2014 MTV AFRICA MUSIC AWARDS: Trey Songz on missing Nigerian girls: 'We need to use our voices to help bring the girls back'.

The American rapper and singer-songwriter Trey Songz has added his voice to high profile artists around the world calling for united action and continued awareness regarding the plight of the missing Nigerian school girls kidnapped by the terrorist group Boko Haram in Chibok, Nigeria almost three months ago.

TV with Thinus asked Trey Songz at the press conference of the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards on MTV Base (DStv 322), if he can weigh in on the case of the missing Nigerian girls.

"We must use our voice to bring attention to it, to bring awareness to it, and to do whatever we can to help bring the girls back," said Trey Songz about the missing Nigerian girls who've been held against their will since April.

"It's incredibly how effective humans can be when they come together for a cause. Unfortunately we live in a time where coming together for some reason is really tough all across the world".

"At some point we as people, not only Africans but people in general, is that at some point we have to decide what we stand for and come together. And when we do that, for whatever cause, in history, real changes have been made," said Trey Songz.

"For the changes that Africans are looking for here [on the continent], it's going to take some real coming together. Always peaceful, but not passive. Because we've been passive for too long".

Trey Songz also had advice for South African and African artists and musicians struggling to break through in the difficult music and entertainment industry.

"As the world becomes more flat through the internet, the internet is our strongest tool to reach out. The internet is how you can engage with people".

"The first time I came here [South Africa] and did my sound check in Durban in 2011, I remember - I can still see the stage and the way it was - I went on the stage and it was people were lining up. And I remember thinking how do these people know?"

"And it was because of my presence on the internet. So try and go directly and to speak directly to your fans as much as possible as any type of artist. Spread, spread, spread, spread," said Trey Songz.

The MTV Africa Music Awards was revived after a three year absence by Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa) and beamed to millions of viewers across the continent on MTV Base and MTV on Saturday night on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform.

2014 MTV AFRICA MUSIC AWARDS: Khloe Kardashian steps out and leaves her seat ... just as the show sets up a background shot of her.

Awkward. What viewers of the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards on MTV Base (DStv 322) and MTV (DStv 130) didn't see - literally - on Saturday night was Khloe Kardashian, during a moment where it seems as if the production wanted to use and include her in a background shot.

Khloe Kardashian who jetted in to South Africa and to Durban, literally got up and left her seat for just that segment. (She arrived in South Africa on Friday and was also unfashionably late at the press conference where she upstaged some of the artists being interviewed).

Did Khloe Kardashian just go to the ladies' room or to get a drink or some fresh air at the exact same moment the show wanted her to be seen in the background during a segment? Or did she deliberately get up and leave to be out of the shot?

This is what happened: The production set up presenter Bonang Matheba to announce the Best Male Artist category. 

Bonang Matheba was prepped and the camera angle framed to include the VIP celebrities sitting to the left hand side of the stage - very specifically Khloe Kardashian who would be clearly visible over Bonang Matheba's shoulder.

Khloe Kardashian would clearly have seen the prep work with the camera in front of Bonang Matheba.

She would, as it were, be "tipped off" as to what was going to be happening next due to the pre preparation of the next segment happening before her. Something that was also visible to all those inside the convention centre.

Remember: Khloe Kardashian is media savvy. She is a reality TV star. She knows cameras, camera angles and TV production from experiencing TV cameras all around her constantly.

She was a co-host for a season of The X Factor USA before being fired. She is aware of how big audience, stage performance, music shows are framed and the type of angles and shots that exist and are popular, and what producers like to do.

Just before Bonang Matheba was to do her link, and with no time left for the production to prepare a possible new angle or have her face the other way, Khloe Kardashian simply got up and exited the area - with her bodyguards in tow.

Bonang Matheba had to do the link and and behind her Khloe Kardashian's white chair was empty. (Producers of award shows hate having to show empty chairs on-air which makes it look as if a show is not popular.)

Khloe Kardashian returned when Bonang Matheba's presentation was done. 

Khloe Kardashian stayed seated before she unexpectedly left, and remained seated for the rest of the duration of the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards. She was gone (oddly) for exactly the part where she would have been in the background. 

Was it deliberate or purely co-incidence? 

Remember that celebrities don't get paid to walk the red carpet and do interviews. It is free and precious exposure. Khloe Kardashian walked the red carpet at the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards. For television however, inside a show, you can get paid. Star wattage earns you the right to ask for an appearance fee.

Did Khloe Kardashian get upset that she was going to be used in a type of "ambush marketing", being used on television in a TV show to be the backdrop and be in the background to lend some star power to another show that isn't Keeping Up with the Kardashians without getting paid an appearance fee?

Who knows. What is odd is that Khloe Kardashian got up and left during the exact bit where viewers would have possibly seen her and that she returned once the camera was gone from its angle of looking at the exact place and direction where she was sitting in the VIP section.

The other not so good bit was when the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards had a live performance mic problem during Trey Songz' appearance on stage. He did his best, egging the standing stage surrounding crowd on to sing the song.

He also objectified himself. The man showed the crowd his abs and strutted his stuff to make up for the lack of being able to sing. And it also proved that he at least doesn't lipsync and really tried to perform live.

2014 MTV AFRICA MUSIC AWARDS: 'It is the stories that happen behind the scenes that makes it powerful,' says Alex Okosi.

"If you look at what happens with something like the MTV Africa Music Awards when we bring Africa together, it is actually the stories behind the scenes that makes it powerful".

So says Alex Okosi, the senior vice president and managing director of Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa) who runs the MTV Base TV channel on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform.

The 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA's), revived after a three year absence, will be broadcast live on MTV Base (DStv 322) and MTV (DStv 130) on Saturday night at 21:00, on BET (StarSat 190) on Thursday 12 June at 22:00, and on e.tv on Saturday 14 June at 22:00.

At the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards press conference held at The Playhouse in Durban on Friday evening, TV with Thinus asked Alex Okosi why the awards show was revived, wby VIMN Africa and MTV Base is doing the awards show, and why it matters.

"I think its critical to celebrate our talent this way," says Alex Okosi. "If you look at what happens with something like the MTV Africa Music Awards when we bring Africa together, is actually the stories behind the scenes that makes it powerful".

"It's the collaborations, it's the camaraderie between the artists from different countries, going into studio to record songs together".

"There's nothing more inspirational than for a young creative or a young artist - and this year we have three new lifestyle categories that all talk about leadership - there's nothing more inspirational to know that if you do well at what you do that there's going to be an endorsement recognising that," says Alex Okosi.

"If I'm a young artist and I'm trying to be the best, I can have something to look forward to and strife to attain. I think its really critical. What's powerful about this is the attention that this awards show gets. It's an amazing thing to have good stories about Africa being written, versus everything else that gets written".

"We're talking about a celebration of African music in Africa and you see amazing young people, which is far better than the sad stories people see about Africa. That's why we get together and work so hard to pull this off," says Alex Okosi.

"Africa is a beautiful place with an amazing youth culture.We restarted the MTV Africa Music Awards because we wanted to make sure that there was enough content".

"We don't want to patronise Africans to say we have an Africa awards show. We wanted to make sure that we're able to package it for the world to see the music and youth culture of Africa".

"What is great about the MTV Africa Music Awards is that we don't just package it for consumption in Africa but that it's packaged for global distribution for the world to see what we have to offer as young Africans".

Since the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards is broadcast live this year on MTV Base and MTV, it also adds a new dynamic to the awards show.

"It brings an amazing shift to the offering to be broadcast live. Being live makes it immediate. It also enables us to engage with our audience on multiple platforms for the first time. We have a big digital and social media element to the show this year. "Because we are live, we can engage the continent," says Alex Okosi.

However, being live adds a lot of pressure onto the crew and a lot of pressure onto the team.

VIMN Africa on a technical level has a team doing the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards that's from all over the world - some of the principal people on the team are responsible for the MTV Europe Music Awards and various other big awards shows around the world.

2014 MTV AFRICA MUSIC AWARDS: New trophy unveiled in pale gold and white, showing a new Africa rising that's 'fresh, unique and new'.

The 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards unveiled a new and reimagined trophy at its press conference on Friday evening at The Playhouse in Durban before the awards show set to take place on Saturday night, 7 June.

The reimagined MTV Africa Music Awards trophy will be refreshed and tweaked every year from now on when the awards show takes place.

The 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards, revived after a three year absence, will be broadcast live on MTV Base (DStv 322) and MTV (DStv 130) on Saturday night at 21:00, on BET (StarSat 190) on Thursday 12 June at 22:00, and on e.tv on Saturday 14 June at 22:00.

The new trophy for the MTV Africa Music Awards was designed by the husband-and-wife design duo Adriaan Hugo and Katy Taplin of Dokter And Misses in Braamfontein, Johannesburg in South Africa and depicts the African continent in pale gold in Meccano like straws, mounted on a white block base.

MTV Base says the new trophy symbolises "African vitality" and represents "an Africa connected through music and creative networks".

The new trophy presents "a different image of Africa, depending on the angle at which it is viewed. The layers reference the dynamism of industrial machinery and graphic shapes of vintage sound equipment; a continent working together through sound".

Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa) which runs MTV Base on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform throughout the African continent, told the media on Friday evening at the press conference that the MTV Africa Music Awards organisers teamed up with a number of designers from across the continent to workshop new ideas for a trophy and chose this one.

"What we're going for is a fresh take on Africa. We like it that it's got interpretation to it".

"It's something less literal, it's Africa rising out of the MTV statue. This [trophy] stands for what we stand for, which is Africa reimagined. So it's Africa represented in a way that is fresh, unique and new. It's not your stereotypical map of Africa".

VIMN Africa says "each year we hope to refresh it and tweak it".

2014 MTV AFRICA MUSIC AWARDS: Khloe Kardashian arrives at press conference as stars gather in Durban for awards show.

The American reality star Kloe Kardashian arrived deliberately and unfashionably late and upstaged part of the press conference at The Playhouse in Durban where the organisers, nominees and performers of the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards gathered on Friday evening to talk to the media ahead of the awards show Saturday night.

The 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA's), revived after a three year absence, will be broadcast live on MTV Base (DStv 322) and   MTV (DStv 130) on Saturday night at 21:00, on BET (StarSat 190) on Thursday 12 June at 22:00, and on e.tv on Saturday 14 June at 22:00.

The 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards revealed a newly redesigned trophy - the African continent in pale gold constructed out of Meccano like straws, mounted on a white block base.

American stars like Trey Songz, Miguel and French Montana will be performing at the Durban International Convention Centre, with the American comedian Marlon Wayans as host.

The large contingent of American stars and the addition of Khloe Kardashian are raising questions about how celebratory the African music awards show really is of African music and African stars and whether the spotlight is being moved away from the African artists it is supposed to honour and celebrate.

Alex Okosi, the senior vice president and managing director of Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa) commented on the disproportionate number of Americans for an African awards show.

"We're trying to showcase Africa to the world, and a lot of times the world needs something that is familiar to them, before you can slip in there all the amazing other things. So Marlon Wayans is there to make the show accessible to everybody and not just to an African audience".

TV with Thinus asked Alex Okosi during the press conference whether Khloe Kardashian will be presenting an award Saturday night at the 2014 Africa Music Awards but he didn't want to give a definite answer.

"Wow, wow. Well ... her boyfriend is here," teased Alex Okosi.

The press and cameras went into a feeding frenzy when Khloe Kardashian arrived late at the media conference and took attention away from the African artists being interviewed on stage.

Khloe Kardashian, her large entourage and body guards were mobbed by the press and an avalanche of cameras again when she walked out without doing any interviews and slipping up the stairs and a side exit and out of sight.

Set to perform at Saturday night's 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards are also Nigerian artists Davido and Diamond and stage collaborations are expected between the American and African artists ranging from Kawala Jazmee's Mafikizolo (nominated for 4 awards), Uhuru, Oskido and Professor.

2014 MTV AFRICA MUSIC AWARDS: Keep the Trash away - Organisers' big mistake if Khloe Kardashian is to 'present an award'.

The organisers of the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards need to tread carefully and should think twice, should there be plans to let American reality Khloe Kardashian - rumoured to be on her way to South Africa - present an award on stage.

Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa) which runs MTV Base and is organising the upcoming weekend's 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards, risks damaging and overshadowing the just-revived African awards show by getting star-struck and hung up with B and D grade American "stars".

Unconfirmed trade gossip has it that Khloe Kardashian, one of the sister who appear in E! Entertainment's Keeping Up with the Kardashians and its several spin-offs, is travelling to South Africa and Durban.

She is romantically linked to French Montana, who will perform.

VIMN Africa and MTV Base already secured Marlon Wayans, an American, as the host of the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards - an awards show which is supposed to be by Africans for Africa - as the word in the title actually denotes.

African artists struggle hugely for recognition, for exposure, for a moment in the spotlight. There's not enough big events where Africa's musicians and artists have at least the potential to shine, or walk a red carpet,or at least get a bit of ink in print.

Think of a newspaper. For every photo of a Khloe Kardashian or a Marlon Wayans printed on Sunday, there is that less space for a picture of an African artist - pushed out and off a page to feature an already known, and American celebrity, not even linked to music.

And because Africa's star-struck often-pandering celebrity press are mostly conditioned to gravitate towards, imitate and adore American popular culture, that is exactly what will happen if a Khloe Kardashian gate-crashes the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards - the hollow spotlight will move to these fake-outs, instead of artists who did something, who achieved something and who is honoured for hard work and achievement in an extremely difficult industry.

The previous time Kim Kardashian and Khloe Kardashian visited South African a few years ago I had the fortunate/unfortunate "honour" of seeing exactly how dismissively they treat the South African press, and how self-absorbed, self-centred, aloof, cellphone obsessed and arrogant they are.

Not one of the South African TV shows, magazines, newspaper or other journalists or reporters who were kept waiting, tried to interview them, or interacted with them had a nice word to say about them behind the scenes - and a new group of press will probably find that out for themselves this time.

The 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards which will be broadcast on MTV Base, MTV and BET will do itself a favour by steering clear of a Khloe Kardashian "gracing" the awards - and a place where she neither belongs, and will detract from.

What is the use of an African music awards show, if organisers and press pander to American stars, instead of celebrating, featuring and focusing on giving Africa's talent their moment to shine?

The 2014 Africa Music Awards should keep the focus and attention not on trash, but on African music. Like it says in its name.

e.tv adds the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA's); will broadcast the awards show one week later on 14 June at 22:00.

e.tv is adding the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA's) and will broadcast the awards show taking place this Saturday 7 June in Durban, one week later on Saturday 14 June at 22:00.

"The MTV Africa Music Awards is a global celebration of African music, culture and talent," says Monde Twala, the group head of e.tv channels.

"e.tv is proud of the association with the MAMA's, and this is part of our ongoing commitment to provide our audience with the best the continent has on offer".

The American comedian Marlon Wayans will be the host of the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards.