Aya Nakamura firmly held onto her crown, sweeping three awards at Les Flammes ceremony on Thursday, April 25. Symbolically opening the show at Paris's Châtelet with a medley of her hits, her performance featured a glittering crown as a backdrop.
At 28, the globally acclaimed French singer dominated the awards, winning Female Artist of the Year, New Pop Album, and International Breakthrough. This wasn't her first recognition at Les Flammes; she also won Female Artist of the Year at last year's inaugural event. Additionally, in February, the Victoires de la musique awarded her a similar prize, following a less significant honor previously.
Gazo repeated his last year's success by being named Male Artist of the Year, a title he also secured at the Victoires awards in February.
Moving forward, Les Flammes awards face challenges in diversifying their recognitions, a critique also levied against the Victoires for repeatedly honoring the same artists.
At the second edition of Les Flammes, the prestigious award for the Best Concert went to SCH for his performance at the Vélodrome in Marseille, his hometown, last year.
The event then shifted to a more political tone when rapper Médine dedicated his live performance to the people of Gaza, showcasing his 2015 song "Gaza Soccer Beach." During his performance, he remarked, "There isn't enough room on the walls of the theater to be able to inscribe the names of the 35,000 victims," as first names appeared in the background.
Médine has been a figure of controversy, recently stirred by a tweet last summer that was criticized as anti-Semitic. In response, Médine stated, "Not only am I not anti-Semitic, but I've been fighting anti-Semitism for 20 years in the field."
Assa Traoré, sister of Adama Traoré, addressed the audience from the stage. Her brother died in July 2016 in Val-d'Oise (just north of Paris), just two hours after his arrest. On stage, she emphasized her dedication, saying, "My commitment bears a name, that of my brother, that of Adama."
The Public Prosecutor's Office of the Paris Court of Appeal in February moved to dismiss the case against the police officers involved in Adama Traoré's arrest, despite acknowledging "a causal link" between the arrest and his death. The decision is scheduled to be announced on May 16.
Les Flammes originated as a counter-response to the Victoires awards, which have historically overlooked rap and R&B genres. This new awards ceremony was developed through a collaboration between Yard, a media and communications agency co-founded by Tom Brunet, and Booska-P, another media company. From the beginning, Spotify, a leading music streaming platform, has been involved with the event.