Arguably one of the most emphatic wins at this year's Heavy Music Awards arrived with the announcement of On Wednesdays We Wear Black earning top of the heap in the Best Podcast category.
As an ever ascending voice within alternative culture, Sophie and Yasmine have not only cultivated a wholly dedicated following with their brand of candor, but have become a vital voice of authenticity within our community. The duo's banter spans the spectrum of sex, music and subculture in a way that approaches some times heady talking points, with a tasteful sense of levity.
What is especially important is how the both Sophie and Yasmine have championed women and the non-binary community without having to pander. The exchanges function less like interviews and more like lively late-nights, belly-up to the bar with a pair of interesting people that know how to carry a conversation leading the way.
It's that genuineness that resonates most when both confide they had zero inclination they would walk away with the hardware at the HMAs. Citing their entire field of contemporaries starting with last year's winner The Downbeat, and adding Hell Bent for Metal, Life In the Stocks, Peer Pressure, The Sappenin Podcast and the State of the Scene, both Yasmine and Sophie seemed content with making an appearance, getting drunk and enjoying the evening - only the fans had other plans.
Speaking to the kind of bond the tandem has forged with their audience, they earned a resounding vote, making them the clear winners in a category stacked deep with quality competition. Yasmine saw it as an opportunity to share the win with the fans that made it possible and speak to the root of their success. Yasmine spoke definitively in sharing that the only true constant is that fans will turn up if the content is good. Sidestepping trends, Yasmine explained that no other formula is as consistent as the lure of quality content crafted with sincerity - evident with the trophy they held in hand.
They also spoke candidly about being sincere hasn't always been easy, especially at the very beginning of the podcast. Catching heat for being unfiltered, Sophie and Yasmine were initially ridiculed for talking so openly about sexuality and race - and heaven forbid - maybe even cracking a joke about it. Sophie explained that the initial criticism however would segue into a strong rapport with their listeners. Establishing a precedent of speaking from the heart, no matter what, made the difference in reach a community that understood the difference between the two hosts talking at the you, versus talking with you.
WATCH: The Heavy Music Awards Highlight Show below.
Catch all the winners, the reaction and performances from Beartooth, Holding Absence, Meet Me At the Altar and Static Dress.
