Grammys: Tems Wins Best African Music Performance

At this year’s Grammys, which was held last night, Nigerian singer Temilade Openiyi, also known by her stage name Tems, took home the African Music Performance Award.

She received recognition for her hit song Love Me JeJe, an insert of Seyi Sodimu’s 1997 song of the same name.

Fans heard the song for the first time during her Coachella performance in April, before the release of her debut album, “Born in the Wild,” in May.

Love Me Jeje by Tems has achieved global success and has received 150 million Spotify plays to date.

She sang the song on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, an American late-night talk show, and also played it as part of her December headline performance at Dubai’s Sole DXB.

The song was also nominated for the Afrobeats prize at the 2024 MTV Music Awards and is up for nomination in the upcoming NCAAP Image Awards.

This is a category that Tems won in 2023 for her song “No Woman No Cry” from the soundtrack of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and in 2024 for her song Me & U.

The Grammys have added the African Music Performance Award category for the second year in a row.

Following South African Tyla’s victory for her song “Water” last year, both prizes are now awarded to females.

Tem’s Reaction To Her Win

“My heart is beating so fast. I’m so sorry, I do work out, but it’s not showing up right now,” Tems joked in her acceptance speech.

“Dear God, thank you so much for putting me on this stage and bringing me this team. And tomorrow is my mum’s birthday. This is her first Grammys. I just want to thank you, Mum, because she’s really done a lot for me and my brother. Happy birthday, Mum.” She said.

At this year’s Grammys, Tems received three nominations, increasing her Grammy nominations to a total of eight.

She was nominated for the African Music Award (Love Me Jeje), Best R&B Song (Burning), and Best Global Music Album (Born in the Wild) this year.

Tems now has two Grammy awards to her name, giving the 29-year-old more Grammys than any other Nigerian artist.

All of the other nominees, which included Burna Boy, Chris Brown, Davido, Lojay, Asake, Wizkid, and Yemi Alade, are Nigerians except American singer Chris Brown, demonstrating the West African nation’s current supremacy in music on the continent, especially internationally.