Swedish heavy metal singer on list of nominees for Český Slavík awards

The lead singer of the Swedish heavy metal band Sabaton, Joakim Brodén, is on the nominees list for the 2016 Český Slavík Awards, the Czech version of the US Grammy Awards. Brodén’s mother is Czech and the singer has dual citizenship. The nominations were announced on Thursday by the agency Musica Bohemica, which organizes the annual music awards. Other nominees include Karel Gott, Tomáš Klus Lucie Bila, Monika Absolonová and the highly controversial Czech band Ortel, whose hateful lyrics primarily target religious and ethnic minorities. Last year, the largely unknown band from Plzeň jumped from 105th spot to fourth place in the Slavík competition. The winners will be announced at a gala ceremony in Prague on November 26.