Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony — Snappy?
Add it to the list. Snapchat officially launched its inaugural awards show The Snappys on Tuesday, converting its Santa Monica headquarters into a theater and party space in celebration of the platform’s top creators.
The evening — which was streamed live on Snapchat — handed out honors to influencers across entertainment, comedy, music, sports and beauty, with longtime user DJ Khaled receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award. Comedian Matt Friend served as the night’s host and Kehlani was billed to close out the evening with a special performance but did not appear, in what would become one of several bumps for the first-time ceremony.
Guests posed on the bright yellow carpet before making their way inside for a cocktail hour and then quickly sitting down for the intimate show of a few hundred seats. Phones were flying and content was being churned out as Friend took the stage, teasing immediately, “This is an awards show honoring Snapchat where you’ll watch all the highlights on TikTok and share the links on Instagram.”
He continued to mock the celebration throughout his monologue, joking, “Why does it seem like everyone has an awards show now? Of course there’s the O.G.s — the Grammys, the Emmys, the Oscars, but the Snappys? What’s next, me hosting the Venmo awards? Are you anybody in this town if you haven’t been nominated for a Google Chrome Extension Award?”
There is some truth to that bit especially in the social media world, as Snapchat is just the latest to launch its own awards event; TikTok held its inaugural U.S. show in December, handing out 14 awards to top creators in a live show at the Hollywood Palladium. And in the fall, Instagram announced its own awards program Rings, which will honor 25 of its top creators with both physical and digital rings, selected by a panel of judges that includes Spike Lee, Marc Jacobs and Instagram head Adam Mosseri.
Friend added that the Snappys “sounds like a STD from the 1890s” and joked that Snap “couldn’t think of a more beautiful location for an awards show than their own office, which cost $0 to use.” He also took on the larger social media space, musing, “It’s an amazing time to be alive. TikTok is a national security threat, Meta is putting facial recognition in your sunglasses and Snapchat is just over here like, ‘Look, you’re a puppy now!’” with the platform’s signature filters. Friend did, though, compliment the app for being “the golden retriever of social media. It’s loyal, it’s lovable and it’s completely unbothered.”
The host followed his jokes with a song-and-dance number before turning to the awards, with winners taking home a golden statue featuring Snap’s ghost logo.
But while a handful of top creators — including David Dobrik, JoJo Siwa, Harry Jowsey, Adam W and Huddy — were in attendance, the night’s biggest problem seemed to be in turnout. Friend even joked in his intro that major stars like Sabrina Carpenter, Benson Boone and Kim Kardashian “don’t know what the fuck the Snappys are” and half of the evening’s winners did not come to the show, to the point where it became a running joke.
Even DJ Khaled accepted his Lifetime Achievement Award with a virtual video message, and after Kehlani’s performance was promoted leading up to the night and in Friend’s monologue, he abruptly announced at the end the show that she was no longer performing. (A rep for Snapchat said they learned partway through the ceremony that she was unable to perform for personal reasons).
Attendance aside, the night still recognized some major names, with Kylie Jenner, Ashley Graham, Leon Thomas and Dwight Howard all landing wins. The top category came in creator of the year, with nominees Dobrik, Siwa, Khloe Kardashian, Landon McBroom and Catherine Paiz. Dobrik took home the win, dedicating his trophy to Jim Shepherd, Snapchat’s head of content partnerships, who he called “the man behind the curtain.”
Check out the full list of winners below:
Creator of the year: David Dobrik
Best use of creative tools: Zaina Sesay
Community builder: Cheyenne Davis
Spotlight MVP: Adam W
Top lens creator: Mohamad El Asmar
Best storyteller: Rachel Levin
One to watch: Ella Moncrief
Off-platform buzz: Nick Vans
Comeback star: Kylie Jenner
Breakout creator: Ashton Hall
Top comedy creator: Lala Milan
Top lifestyle creator: Ari Fletcher
Top beauty creator: Leilani Green
Top athlete creator: Dwight Howard
Top music creator: Leon Thomas
Top food creator: Jack Mancuso
Top fashion creator: Ashley Graham
Top on-camera correspondent: Lauren Ashley Beck
Top gamer creator: Dimucc
Top family creator: Justus and Kayla Tucker
Top fitness creator: Katie Austin
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