How do we solve a problem like the Mobos?

Estelle hits the red carpet (sourced at www.popsugar.com) 

The Mobo Awards took place last night at Wembley Arena, and as per usual, made headlines for all the wrong reasons. Leona Lewis was booed severely for not being there to collect her two gongs. As were Lil’ Wayne and Dizzee Rascal. Tim Westwood also felt the wrath of the crowd even though he was there in the flesh to collect his gong (maybe that was the problem, lol). In fact, it seemed as if only Estelle and the nominated radio/club DJ’s could be bothered to turn up. I know it’s all too easy to fall into the familiar habit of dissing the Mobos, but I don’t think the organisers were to blame this year. Despite the no-shows, as a ceremony it certainly has upped it’s game. The stage set was great – all colourful and futuristic looking. Mel B and Rev Run ended up being quite a good hosting team, bouncing off one another, and appearing quite natural as opposed to those horrific, staged gags we witnessed from Shaggy and Jamelia last year *brrr, still shuddering at the memory as I write this*. The presenters were a good mix of singers, actors, and sports personalities. Estelle and the Sugarbabes put in some solid performances. Craig David & Stryder Man were also surprisingly entertaining, and I'm now pleading Craigee boy to return to his garage/emceeing roots. It was great to see Yolanda Brown receive the award for Best Jazz Artist because she’s certainly put in the work – yay, go girl! Okay, so admittedly there were a few boo boos along the way. I could barely watch Mary Wilson’s cringe inducing Supremes medley because I felt so bad for her. Talk about coming across like a drunken auntie at a Christening.

But while I can’t really find fault with the show as a production, it still managed to fall pretty flat simply because of the amount of absentees. I mean, would Leona Lewis not turn up to the Brits? I guess in all honesty we shouldn’t be too surprised by her absence. She is being marketed as a straight up pop artist, so chances are her management couldn’t give two hoots about a black music awards show. But what about Dizzee? He soooo should have been there (Estelle was on tour too, but still made it a point to show up). If the UK artists can’t be bothered to turn up, how can we expect the international acts to feel the need to get on a plane? Speaking of which,  it's such a shame the organisers didn't bring Mavado over, a live performance would've brought the house down, did you hear the reception he received when he won the Best Reggae Award? It's frustrating because the show has such potential, and without a doubt is still very much needed in this country. So come on, artists and audiences alike, let's show our support and help to re-inject some much needed credibility. If the Mobos were to be axed we’d be the first ones up in arms bemoaning the fact that there is lack of support for  black music/artists.

Here's a list of who won what!