Ayetian’s rise in Caribbean music is accelerating at a steady pace. Just months after earning a breakthrough nomination at the MOBO Awards, the fast-rising Dancehall artiste has emerged as one of the standout names at the 2026 Caribbean Music Awards with seven nominations, making him the most nominated dancehall act and solidifying his status as one of the genre’s most exciting new faces. The nominations place Ayetian alongside some of the Caribbean’s biggest stars and further confirm the growing international demand for a new generation of Dancehall talent.
At this year’s Caribbean Music Awards, Ayetian secured nominations for Dancehall Song of the Year for “Wah Yo Deh Pon”, Best New Artist, Dancehall Impact Award, Male Dancehall Artist of the Year, and multiple Collaboration of the Year categories, including “Wah Yo Deh Pon”, “Tip (Remix)”, and the Soca collaboration “Truth & Balance”. The strong showing comes during a landmark year for the awards ceremony, which returns for its fourth staging with more than 250 nominees across over 40 categories. Voting officially opened on June 10 and will continue through August 10, as fans across the globe rally behind their favourite artistes.
The nominations cap off a breakout run for Ayetian, whose profile has steadily expanded beyond Jamaica over the past year. Earlier this year, he earned a Best Caribbean Music Act nomination at the MOBO Awards, placing him in the company of established stars including Vybz Kartel, Masicka and Shenseea. Although the MOBO ceremony has since passed, the nomination proved to be a defining moment in his growing international recognition and positioned him among the Caribbean acts pushing the culture into new territories.
Much of that momentum was amplified by his appearance on Rvssian’s genre-blending single “What I Like” alongside Ghanaian star MOLIY and US rapper Tyga. The track debuted at No. 6 on the US iTunes Top 100 Reggae Songs chart earlier this year and helped introduce Ayetian’s energetic fusion of Jamaican Patois and Haitian Creole to a wider audience. Meanwhile, anticipation continues to build around his forthcoming EP JAMPACK, led by the single “Riddle Mi Dis”, which the artiste previously described as capturing “the real essence of being a Dancehall artist”.
The Caribbean Music Awards itself continues to grow into one of the region’s most influential cultural platforms. This year’s edition introduces several new categories spanning Dennery, Zess, Konpa, Chutney Soca and French Caribbean music, highlighting the increasingly global and genre-fluid direction of Caribbean sounds. With Ayetian now standing among the ceremony’s most nominated acts alongside names like Lady Lava, Machel Montano and V’ghn, the young Dancehall star appears to be entering a defining chapter in his career — one that could firmly establish him among the leading voices shaping Caribbean music’s future.
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