Nigerian singer Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems on Sunday night bagged her first Grammy award. Tems who featured alongside Drake on Future’s ‘Wait for You’ took home the award for Best Rap Melodic Performance. The song was also nominated for the Best Rap Song award. This remarkable achievement places Tems in a league of her own, as she now joins the legendary Nigerian-British singer Sade Adu as one of the few female artists to have won a Grammy. Sade Adu, who won the Best New Artist award in 1986, has long been a source of inspiration for many musicians, and Tems’ win serves as a reminder of the amazing talent and diversity that exists within the music industry. Tems’ win is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and passion that she has put into her music, and it’s a victory for all Nigerian artists and fans of Afrobeats.
Although Burna Boy missed out on the two nominations he was up for this year, his Grammy win for Best Global Music Album for Twice as Tall in 2021 is still fresh in the minds of many music lovers. Future tops two key music charts this week as “Wait For U” featuring Drake and Tems debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, and his latest album, “I Never Liked You,” accomplished the feat on the Billboard 200. Although the song is Future’s second (his first was alongside Young Thug on Drake’s “Way 2 Sexy”) Hot 100 entry, “Wait For U” is his first as the lead mention. “Wait For U” has been streamed a total of 40.2 million times, with 7.9 million radio airplay audience impressions and 6,400 downloads sold in the April 29-May 5 tracking week, according to Luminate via Billboard.
Future’s “I Never Liked You” LP earned him his eighth No. 1 album to debut atop the Billboard 200, with 222,000 equivalent album units earned. The track also commemorated Drake’s tenth time at No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart and, in a celebratory first, Tems adds the No. 1 to her growing arsenal of hits. This is Tems’ second top 10, after Wizkid’s “Essence” landed as No. 9 in the chart during October 2021. The Nigerian singer has previously enjoyed a co-sign from Drake on his latest album, “Certified Lover Boy,” which was released last year.
