By An Afrobeats loss? Here are the eight Nigerian Superstars who lost at just concluded Grammys
Ghazali Ibrahim
Nigerian contemporary music now tagged Afrobeats has in the past few years continued to make waves across the globe with huge streams, accolades, revenues, and sold-out shows everywhere from London to Paris, Atlanta to Montreal but was however dealt a huge blow last night.
With about a dozen nominations in different categories, Nigerian music revelers were optimistic their favorite acts would be bringing home some accolades but that wasn’t the situation as Nigeria failed to clinch a single award at the 66th Grammys which was held at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
BlackBox Nigeria brings you all the Nigerian nominees who failed to impress at the Grammys…
1. Burna Boy
Nigerian afrobeat superstar, Damini Ogulu, aka Burna Boy, lost out on all four of his nominations at the 66th Grammy Award ceremony.
Burma Boy received nominations for “Sittin’ On Top Of The World” for Best Melodic Rap Performance, “I Told Them…” for Best Global Music Album, “Alone” for Best Global Music Performance, and “City Boys” for Best African Music Performance.
But all of these were lost to, the trio of Zakir Hussain, Bela Fleck, and Edgar Myer’s song ‘Pashto’ which won the Global Music Performance category, the Best African Music Performance category which was won by South Africa’s female rapper, Tyla.
Also, the Best Melodic Rap Performance category was won by American rappers, Lil Durk and J Cole, rated above ‘Sittin’ On Top of the World’ by Burna Boy, and Best Global Music Album won by World fusion band Shakti’s ‘This Moment.’
2. Davido
Afrobeats singer, David Adeleke popularly known as
Davido bagged nominations for Best Global Album for his comeback album, “Timeless”, Best African Performance for his global hit song “Unavailable,” and Best Global Music Performance for his song “Feel.”
However, his dream of becoming a winner at the Grammy’s was cut short following his defeat by Tyla at the event.
Davido lost to Zakir Hussain winning the Best Global Music Performance award for his contribution to ‘Pashto.
3 &4. Olamide and Asake
Nigerian artists Olamide and Asake have been nominated their first-ever Grammy nominations for their collaboration “Amapiano” in the category of Best African Music Performance.
The nomination marks the first time that either of them has been nominated for a Grammy Award.
The duo lost to South African female singer, Tyla for her hit song, “Water”.
5. Ayra Starr
Popular afrobeat star, who has made waves all over the world with her astounding voice in many of her hits.
‘Sabi girl’ as popularly called was nominated in the Best African Music Performance category for the worldwide hit “Rush”, but she couldn’t secure the spot as Tyla’s “water” was rated over her “Rush”.
6.Fireboy DML
Fireboy DML earned a nomination in the Album of the Year category for his contributions to Jon Batiste’s “World Music Radio.”
But, he couldn’t win the category as Taylor swift bagged the award with her album, “Midnights”.
7. CKay
Chukwuka Chukwuma Ekweani, known by his stage name Ckay, a Nigerian rapper signed to Warner Music South Africa and Atlantic Record was also nominated for the 66th Grammys.
He earned a Grammy nomination for his work on Janelle Monáe’s “The Age of Pleasure,” which was nominated for Album of the Year, but, unfortunately, Taylor Swift’s “Midnight” was rated above his.
8. Tems
Temilade Openiyi, known professionally as Tems, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and record producer.
She rose to stardom after being featured on Wizkid’s 2020 single “Essence”, which peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart following the release of the remix version with Justin Bieber.
She outshine Burna Boy at the 65th Grammy making it her first Grammy award with her future hit single, “Wait for You”.
Tems’ nomination came from her contribution to Rihanna’s “Lift Me Up”.
However, this year’s edition comes with a shock for the singer as her name wasn’t included among the winners.
Despite the Nigerian nominee’s fate at the Grammys, their music has gained momentum in people’s hearts with their dedication to their craft.
