Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony – sting?
Add it to the list. Snapchat officially launched its inaugural awards show The Snappys on Tuesday, transforming its Santa Monica headquarters into a stage and party space celebrating the platform’s top creators.
The evening – which was streamed live on Snapchat – honored influencers in entertainment, comedy, music, sports and beauty, with long-time user DJ Khaled receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award. Comedian Matt Friend served as the night’s host and Kehlani was asked to close out the evening with a special performance but did not appear, in what would become one of several bumps in the first concert.
Guests stood on the bright yellow carpet before making their way inside for cocktail hour and then quickly being seated for the intimate show with a few hundred seats. Phones were flying and content was being posted as Friend took to the stage and promptly said: “This is an awards show honoring Snapchat where you’ll be seeing all the highlights on TikTok and sharing links on Instagram.”
He continued to mock the celebration throughout his monologue, joking, “Why does everyone seem to have an awards show now? Of course there are the OGs — the Grammys, the Emmys, the Oscars, but Snappys? What’s next, I’m hosting the Venmo Awards? Are you anyone in this town if you’re not nominated for a Google Chrome Extension Award?”
There is some truth to this especially in the world of social media, as Snapchat is the latest to launch its own awards event; TikTok held its inaugural US show in December, handing out 14 awards to top creators in a live show at the Hollywood Palladium. In the fall, Instagram announced its Rings awards program, which will honor 25 of the best creators with physical and digital rings, selected by a judging panel that includes Spike Lee, Marc Jacobs, and Instagram president Adam Mosseri.
A friend added that the Snappys “look like an STD from the 1890s” and joked that Snap “couldn’t think of a more beautiful location for an awards ceremony than their own office, which costs $0 to use.” He also took up more social media space, saying: “It’s a great time to be alive. TikTok is a national security threat, Meta is putting facial recognition in your sunglasses, and Snapchat is right here like, ‘Look, you’re a puppy now!'” with the platform’s signature filters. However, the friend praised the app for being “the golden retriever of social media. He’s loyal, cuddly and doesn’t bother him at all.”
The host followed up his jokes with a song and dance before heading to the awards ceremony, where winners received a gold statuette bearing Snap’s ghost logo.
But while a few major creatives — including David Dobrik, JoJo Siwa, Harry Jocy, Adam W., and Hoodie — were in attendance, the biggest problem that night seemed to be the turnout. A friend even joked in his introduction that big stars like Sabrina Carpenter, Benson Boone, and Kim Kardashian “don’t know what Snappys are” and that half of the evening’s winners didn’t come to the show, so much so that it became a running joke.
DJ Khaled even accepted his lifetime achievement award with a virtual video message, and after promoting Kehlani’s performance in the lead-up to the night and in Friend’s monologue, he abruptly announced at the end of the show that she was no longer performing. (A Snapchat representative said they learned partly during the concert that she was unable to perform for personal reasons.)
Regardless of attendance, the night still recognized some big names, with Kylie Jenner, Ashley Graham, Leon Thomas and Dwight Howard all winning. The first category was Creative of the Year, with nominees Dobrik, Siwa, Khloe Kardashian, Landon McBroom, and Katherine Bays. Dobrik took home the win, dedicating his award to Jim Shepherd, Snapchat’s head of content partnerships, whom he called “the man behind the curtain.”
Check out the full list of winners below:
Creator of the Sunnah: David Dobrik
Best use of creative tools:Zeina Sissay
Community builder: Cheyenne Davis
Highlight the best player: Adam W
Top lens maker: Muhammad Al-Asmar
Best narrator: Rachel Levine
One to watch: Ella Moncrieff
Noise outside the platform:Nick Vans
Return star: Kylie Jenner
Hack Generator: Ashton Hall
Top comedy creators: Lala Milan
Top lifestyle creator: Ari Fletcher
The highest creator of beauty: Leilani Green
The best sports creators:Dwight Howard
Top music creator: Leon Thomas
Top food creators: Jack Mancuso
Top fashion creator: Ashley Graham
Top reporter on camera: Lauren Ashley Beck
Best playmaker: Dymock
Top family builder:Justus and Kayla Tucker
Top fitness builder: Katie Austin
