Nigerian singer Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, has once again made history! She beat out music heavyweights like Davido, Yemi Alade, Burna Boy, Wizkid, and Asake to win the Best African Music Performanceaward at the 67th Grammy Awards on Sunday.
Her song Love Me Jeje, a beautiful remake of Seyi Sodimu’s 1997 classic, stood out among tough competition, including:
- Tomorrow – Yemi Alade
- MMS – Asake & Wizkid
- Sensational – Chris Brown ft. Davido & Lojay
- Higher – Burna Boy
With this win, Tems continues the streak of female dominance in the category, following South African singer Tyla’s victory last year with Water.
Though she celebrated her Grammy win, Tems narrowly missed out on two other nominations—Best R&B Song, which went to SZA’s Saturn, and Best Global Music Album, which was won by Matt B & Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s Alkebulan II.
In an emotional acceptance speech, Tems expressed deep gratitude to God and gave a heartfelt shoutout to her mother, whose birthday was just around the corner.
“Wow, dear God, thank you so much for putting me on this stage and bringing me this team. Tomorrow is my mum’s birthday, and this is her first Grammys. I just want to thank you, ma, because you’ve done so much for me and my brother. Happy birthday, Mum!”
She also thanked her team, mentioning Muyiwa, Wale, her stylist, and her close friends, ending her speech with: “To God be the glory. Honestly, He has changed my life so much.”
