On the 7th of April 2026, Cleo Ice Queen's "I AM HER" was selected to be showcased at the Berlin Music Video Awards under the Silver Screenings category. This is one of Europe's biggest music video festivals, which opens three days of back-to-back screenings. And if that's not big enough, she's in the same official selection as BTS, American rapper Don Toliver, Måneskin frontman Damiano David, and Swedish House Mafia's Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello.
What are the Berlin Music Video Awards?
To put it simply, the Berlin Music Video Awards (BMVA) is an international festival that celebrates the best music videos. It launched in 2013 and has grown into one of Europe's largest festivals built entirely around music videos - three days of screenings, award shows, live performances, workshops and industry networking. The point is to judge work on creativity and execution, regardless of how famous the artist already is or what language the song is in.
This year's edition ran from June 11 to 13 at Gretchen in Berlin, with hundreds of videos submitted from around the world screening across the three nights.
What is the Silver Screenings Category all about?
In BMVA's own words, "The Silver Screenings presents a collection of music videos that came close to being nominated for this year's edition but didn't make it due to intense competition." These are the videos the BMVA still considers strong enough to be recognized and put in front of its audience. For 2026, that selection runs to 200 videos, pulled from around the world.
So in this category no one is competing against anyone - the 200 videos in the Silver Screenings have no award waiting for them. The achievement is recognizing that just because these videos didn't get an award doesn't mean they're not good. No. These are the videos that simply could not be left behind. In a sense, the selection itself is the achievement, being part of the 200 videos is a win.
And the lineup in this category is filled with heavyweights - BTS, Don Toliver, Måneskin's Damiano David, Ghanaian-Australian artist Genesis Owusu, Swedish House Mafia's Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello, UK rapper Tinie Tempah, and British band Hurts alongside producer Purple Disco Machine plus hundreds of independent artists and directors from around the world.
The Album Behind "I AM HER"
"I Am Her" isn't a standalone drop, it's the lead single and title track of Cleo Ice Queen's third studio album, also titled "I AM HER", released in 2025. It follows her 2016 debut Geminice and 2020's Leaders of the New School. The 11-track project leans into confidence, womanhood and resilience, with a feature list pulling from across the region: Yo Maps, Slapdee, Jae Cash, 76 Drums and Dizmo from Zambia, plus South Africa's Gigi Lamayne.
In a TikTok video, Cleo shared how she had the opportunity to meet with the German Ambassador and the team at the German Embassy in Zambia as she prepared to travel to Berlin. She said the song was written as "truly about the woman I am becoming: a woman of faith, resilience, purpose, possibility. The song then became my mantra, my manifestation, my testimony, and my reminder to keep going even when the dream felt far away."
Born Clementina Mulenga in Lusaka, Cleo has been one of Zambia's most consistent international exports for over a decade and the most decorated female artist in Zambia.
From Big Brother Africa: The Chase in 2013, to becoming the first Zambian artist selected for Coke Studio Africa, to wins for Best Female Rapper (Southern Africa) at AFRIMMA 2021 and Best Female Artiste (Southern Africa) at AFRIMA 2022 - she's signed to Def Jam Africa.
As far as we can find, this is the first time a Zambian-led music video has landed an official selection at BMVA. Which makes Cleo's own framing of the moment land exactly right: Zambia ku Chalo. Zambia, abroad.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: Today, June 14th, is Cleo Ice Queen's birthday. She turns 37 today. Publishing this today felt right.]
Honorable Mention - Because Zambia's International Run Doesn't Stop in Berlin
Cleo isn't the only one putting Zambian sound in front of new audiences this month. Sampa The Great - Zambia's other major international export has had her own run of headlines.
Her latest single, "Can't Hold Us" (featuring her sister Mwanjé), dropped in November 2025 as the first taste of new material under what Sampa calls "Nu Zamrock" - her own reimagining of Zambia's classic Zamrock sound for a new era. The track is now part of the in-game soundtrack of EA Sports FC 26, the football game formerly known as FIFA. And it doesn't stop there — "Can't Hold Us" was also featured in the Chapter 7 Season 3: Runners Official Cinematic Trailer for Fortnite.
For those who don't know, Fortnite is one of the most-played video games in the world with hundreds of millions of players globally - a battle royale game developed by Epic Games that is also known for its massive pop culture moments, from concerts to movie trailers. Having your song in a Fortnite cinematic trailer means your music just reached an audience that doesn't follow music charts, doesn't know your name yet, and is now hearing you anyway. That's the kind of placement you can't buy.
That means a Zamrock record is currently moving inside two of the biggest entertainment franchises on the planet, reaching audiences that have nothing to do with the Zambian music industry.
And in just under two weeks, Sampa performs at Mawazine - Rabat's "Rhythms of the World" festival and one of the largest music festivals on the African continent — taking the Bouregreg African Stage on Thursday, June 25. This year's Mawazine lineup also features names like Tiësto, Tyga, Rema, Major Lazer and ITZY.
The Bigger Picture
Two Zambian artists, two completely different international stages, in the same stretch of June - one inside Europe's biggest music video showcase, the other inside a global gaming franchise and on one of Africa's biggest festival lineups.
Zambia ku Chalo isn't just a caption this month. It's the headline.
