Photo of the week: La vie est belle
In a ceremony that saw a turn-around from the usual winners who sing in English, this year’s MIAs honoured Dutch and French lyrics
The Flemish Grammys
Angèle is from Flemish Brabant, but sings French-language pop songs, including the singles “Je veux tes yeux” and “La Thune”. She comes from a musical family: Her father is the singer Marka, and her brother is rapper Romeo Elvis.
Angèle won MIAs for Debut Album, Artwork and Best Female Solo Artist. But she wasn’t the biggest winner at his year’s awards: that honour goes to Niels Destadsbader, who brought home a whopping five awards. The Dutch-lyrics pop singer won Best Album, Best Dutch-Language Artist, Best Pop Artist, Best Male Solo Artist and Best Flemish Popular.
Both Angèle and Destadsbader had seven nominations. While artists and bands who sing in English tend to dominate the awards, this year there was a distinct turn-around, with an embrace of Belgium’s national languages.
This trend carried on with the Hit of the Year. BLØF, a Dutch rock band garnered the nomination thanks to their collaboration with Flemish singer Geike Arnaert. Together, the artists won Hit of the Year for “Zoutelande”.
Other MIA winners were Tamino for Best Alternative Artist, Lost Frequencies for Best Dance Music and Bazart for Best Group, the band’s third MIA win in the category in a row.
Photo: James Arthur Gekiere/BELGA
