Agency Report
At 29, Tems has achieved a milestone, surpassing all Nigerian artistes with her Grammy wins.
Temilade Openiyi, known professionally as Tems
Nigerian singer, songwriter, and record producer, Temilade Openiyi, known professionally as Tems, has won the 67th Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance, a prestigious recognition that highlights her exceptional talent and contribution to the music industry.
The awards took place at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Tems emerged victorious in a fierce competition, beating out strong contenders with her love song “Love Me Jeje”.
Receiving the award, Tems said: “Dear God, thank you so much for putting me on this stage and bringing me this team.”
She also dedicated the award to her mother.
Tems, 29, now has more Grammy awards than any other Nigerian artiste.
The award marks her second Grammy win.
In 2023, she won the Best Melodic Rap Performance for the song ‘Wait For U’ with American hip-hop stars Future and Drake.
Nominations analysis
Here, we explore the prospects of Tems, Asake, Burna Boy, Yemi Alade, Wizkid, Davido, and Rema, analysing their nominated song, cultural impact, and potential to clinch a coveted Grammy for Sunday.
Tems – ‘Love Me Jeje’ (Best Global Music Album, Best R&B, Best African Music)
In just five years, Tems won the hearts of a broad audience. The Grammy-winning Nigerian star and the first African act to top the Billboard Hot 100 – thanks to Future sampling her song Higher on Wait For U – has firmly cemented her place on the global stage.
While she has collaborated with the likes of Drake and Rihanna, 2024 marked the year she fully stepped into her spotlight with the release of her long-awaited debut album, ‘Born in the Wild.’
A standout from the project, ‘Love Me JeJe’ – which interpolates Seyi Sodimu’s beloved 1997 hit – became an instant success, reaching No. 1 on the UK Afrobeats Chart and No. 3 on Billboard’s US Afrobeats Songs. Tems debuted the track during her 2024 Coachella set, strategically bridging past African pop icons with contemporary global sounds. The gamble paid off – her ability to blend nostalgia with modern R&B and Afrobeats resonated widely, earning Love Me JeJe a Grammy nomination for Best African Music Performance.
Beyond this, Tems’ artistry is being recognised on a larger scale. Her album Born in the Wild is in contention for Best Global Music Album, facing off against international stars like Matt B and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Meanwhile, her soul-stirring ballad Burning is nominated for Best R&B Song. With three Grammy nominations, Tems’ rise to stardom is undeniable. While competition is fierce, her international recognition and ability to seamlessly blend genres make her a strong contender–particularly in the Best R&B Song category for Burning, which has garnered widespread critical acclaim.
Beyonce wins top Grammys prize for first time with ‘Cowboy Carter’
Beyonce scored the top prize at music’s Grammy Awards on Sunday, taking album of the year for the first time in her career with her country record “Cowboy Carter,” at a ceremony that delivered a love letter to wildfire-ravaged Los Angeles.
The superstar singer triumphed over Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and others to claim the trophy that had eluded her even as she collected more lifetime Grammys than any other artist.
“I just feel very full and very honored. It’s been many, many years,” Beyonce said on stage, standing next to her daughter Blue Ivy Carter.
Beyonce’s win came on her fifth nomination in the album category. She earned three trophies in total on Sunday, bringing her career haul to 35.
Rapper Kendrick Lamar claimed record and song of the year for “Not Like Us,” a diss track in his feud with Canadian rapper and singer Drake. Lamar, who swept the five categories he was nominated for, dedicated his wins to Los Angeles, where the ceremony was held.
“This is my neck of the woods that’s held me down since I was a young pup,” he said, adding “we are going to restore the city.”
“Pink Pony Club” singer Chappell Roan was named best new artist and used her time on stage to urge record labels to pay musicians a living wage with healthcare benefits. She recalled a time when she felt “dehumanized” to not have health insurance. “Labels – we got you, but do you got us?” she said.
Swift, who has won album of the year a record four times and was nominated for “The Tortured Poets Department,” was shut out this time. She took the stage once to present the Grammy for best country album, an honor that went to Beyonce.
CELEBRATING LA
The Grammy festivities were revamped to be part awards show and part fundraiser for people affected by the wildfires, which were contained on Friday after killing 29 people and displacing thousands including many musicians.
Broadcast live on CBS (PARA.O), opens new tab, the show opened with an all-star rendition “I Love LA” featuring Altadena-based band Dawes backed by John Legend, Brad Paisley, St. Vincent and Brittany Howard.
“Tonight, we decided we are not just celebrating our favorite music. We are also celebrating the city that brought us so much of that music,” said host Trevor Noah, who directed viewers to donation options. At least $7 million was raised during the broadcast, Noah said.
In other tributes to Los Angeles, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars sang “California Dreamin’.” Firefighters handed out the album prize and received a standing ovation. In between awards, the show wove in vignettes about a florist, a skate shop and other small businesses working to recover from the fires.
The Grammys also remembered influential music producer Quincy Jones, who died in November. Stevie Wonder led the crowd in singing the famine relief anthem “We Are the World” with a choir of students from schools destroyed in the wildfires, and Janelle Monae performed Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough.”
Canadian singer The Weeknd ended his boycott of the Grammys, showing up midway for a surprise performance. He had criticized Grammy voters for what he called a lack of transparency and a failure to properly recognize hip-hop and R&B artists.
“We have listened, we have acted and we have changed,” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said on stage. The Grammys voting body is now younger and 40% are people of color, he said.
Grammy winners are chosen by the 13,000 singers, songwriters, producers, engineers and others who make up the Recording Academy.
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