WINDHOEK, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The 2019 Namibia Annual Music Awards(NAMA) was officially launched here Wednesday by Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC) and Namibian Broadcasting Cooperation .

The event, which will officially open for entries from April 1 to April 26, welcomes the participation of all Namibian artists with music, either singles or albums, commercially released in the country between Dec.1, 2017 and Nov. 30, 2018, said Tim Ekandjo, MTC's chief human capital and corporate affairs officer.

NAMA 2019 will have a total of 25 categories, and one new additional category added is "Artist of the Year," Ekandjo added.

"The winner of 'Artist of the Year' will be decided by the highest score recorded from the judges'vote awarded to the winners of the Best Male and Best Female categories," Ekandjo explained.