IT was a “so, so good” moment for Netty Cee, as the cooking, rapping, and comedienne extraordinaire took home the very first SoMe Content Creator of the Year Award on Saturday, Feb. 4 at the sold-out event held at Saipan World Resort.
Organized by the comedy group PalmTrio670 — Loyd Lely, Jefferson Mateo and Louvicki Camacho — the SoMe Awards gathered content creators from different genres across the Marianas for a night of celebration, community building, and laughs.
The event was hosted by Chinaman and Kimberlyn King-Hinds.
From Jan. 8 to 28 fans voted for their favorite influencers in 13 other award categories on Marianas Variety’s website.
The other winners were @bear.woww who received the award for Comedic Content Creator; @ohitsrhine, Health and Fitness Content Creator; @beautyby.hannahb, Beauty Content Creator; @sammmiiiey, Fashion Content Creator; @gedxx, Gaming Content Creator; @kadukalay, Adult Entertainment Content Creator; @zoritalks, Podcast; @josh_v98, Food Content Creator as well as Cultural Content Creator; and @ashurireiko, Lifestyle and Family Content Creator.
PalmTrio670 also paid an emotional tribute to the winner of the Fishing and Best Collab awards, @triggah_killa_670, aka Traven Quitugua, the 22-year-old spearfisherman who passed away on Jan. 3 in the waters off Hidden Beach.
The Fishing Content Creator Award was renamed the Triggah Killah Award in his honor. Quitugua posthumously won the Best Collab Award with one of his fishing partners, @chinesepoksu/.
Most prestigious
The Content Creator of the Year Award was the evening’s most prestigious prize. In addition to the winner garnering the most votes in the category, PalmTrio670 used community engagement and the social media metrics of Netty Cee’s posts to determine her eligibility for the award.
Aside from being named the Marianas’ top content creator, Netty Cee was also the winner of the Content Creator Away from Home Award, which is given to influencers originally from the CNMI who currently live off-island.
“Shout out to everybody who was engaged with my videos who shared them, whoever cooked them, whoever made it,” Netty Cee said onstage. “Tell your grandma and your mom that you love them, keh? And make sure you learn all their recipes. Even all your aunties and your uncles, ask them. Ask them ‘how do you make tinalan katne?’ [or] ‘how do I do this?’ Just ask, that’s how it starts.”
Jefferson Mateo, one of the “palms” in the trio, described “lots of sleepless nights” in the buildup to the event, but was pleased with the evening’s execution.
“There’s a lot of feels going on right now,” he told Variety at the SoMe Award’s conclusion. “We’re so happy with … the outcome of the event, and the supporters. Everybody just being here at the event makes us so happy.”
Mateo said PalmTrio670 wanted the island’s influencers to feel closer as a community, and his partner, Loyd Lelly, agreed.
“That’s what it’s all about — building that community,” Lely said.
Mateo said they want to spread the success they’ve found on social media.
“As Palm Trio we feel like we’ve reached the goal and we’ve thrived [and now want] to connect as a community … celebrating everybody for their hardship and their hard work,” Mateo said. “Here in the CNMI, we want to see all the talent and have them put it there in their very own creative ways.”
Mateo said in this digital age, content creation is an important skill to have. He said influencers are able to use their passion and creativity to “thrive.”
Overdue
The event featured entertainment from JJ Aguon, Francis Peter, IAMJred670 and Studio 29:11.
Directly outside the venue, @queenofCK aka Kyle Thorne, conducted the official carpet-side interviews of influencers making their way to the event.
Thorne said the event was “[long] overdue.”
“I feel like a lot of people don’t get a lot of recognition for the things they do, even though it could be as simple as people showing their lives through social media or documenting their culture,” she said. “It doesn’t get enough recognition and I think an event like this really sets the tone for what we need to prioritize, which is building community and building relationships with each other.”
Although they are not “one to make plans,” PalmTrio670 said the SoMe Awards are an exception.
Louvicki Camacho wants to go “bigger and better” in 2025.
“I feel so confident that next year we’re going to top this,” she told Variety. “I felt so many emotions tonight — happy, sad all the feels. All I’m going to say is stay tuned for 2025!”
Winner of the evening’s most prestigious award, Netty Cee, was recognized as the Content Creator of the Year.
Kyle Thorne, aka @queenofCK, right, was the carpet side interviewer. She poses here with Loutricia Santos, her social media collaborator.
The SoMe awards, held on Feb. 4, sold out all tickets, and packed the Royal Taga Ballroom of the Saipan World Resort.
The SoMe awards, held on Feb. 4, sold out all tickets, and packed the Royal Taga Ballroom of the Saipan World Resort.
The SoMe awards, held on Feb. 4, sold out all tickets, and packed the Royal Taga Ballroom of the Saipan World Resort.
It was a “so, so good” night for Netty Cee at the SoMe Awards, as she walked away with both the Content Creator Away from Home award and the Content Creator of the Year award.
Netty Cee, known for her comedy and food recipes, poses in front of a mural by street artist SOIS. She stands next to Juanicia Villanueva.
The late spearfisherman Trayven Quitugua was posthumously awarded the Fishing Content Creator Award, which was renamed “Triggah Killah” in his honor.
@gedxx is the 2024 SoMe Gaming Content Creator Award winner.
Best Collab Award winner Chinese Poksu poses with Maria Quitugua, who accepted it on behalf of her brother, the late Trayven Quitugua.
Joshua Villagomez was a double winner at the event, taking home the Cultural Content Creator and Food Content Creator awards.
Beauty Content Creator award winner @beautyby.hannahb/.
The Adult Entertainment Award Winner is @kadukalay/.
The family of Trayven Quitugua was on hand at the event during a special presentation to honor the late fisherman. His mother, Kiki Igitol Benjamin speaks to the crowd about her son.
PalmTrio670 hosts the SoMe social media awards in February 2024.
The Health and Fitness Content Creator Award went to @ohitsrhine/.
@bear.woww poses after her win in the Comedic Content Creator category.
From left, Loyd Lely, Jefferson Mateo, and Louvicki Camacho, better known as PalmTrio670, want next year’s event to be even bigger and better than the inaugural event.
The SoMe Awards were hosted by Kimberlyn King-Hinds, left, and Chinaman.
The Zorrie Talks podcast is the SoMe Awards 2024 top Marianas podcast.
