By Seyi Babalola
Nigerian R&B musician, Temilade Openiyi often known as Tems, is set to become the first African artist to win two Grammys in a single night.
Tems had three Grammy nominations this year, including Best African Music Performance for “Love Me Jeje”, Best Global Music Album for “Born In The Wild”, and Best R&B Song for “Burning.”
Billboard predicts that the diva will win two categories when the stars meet in Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on Sunday, February 2nd.
According to the prediction, Tems’ “Love Me Jeje” -a sample of Seyi Sodimu’s 1997 song of the same title- will win the Best African Music Performance category ahead of “Tomorrow” (Yemi Alade); “MMS” (Asake & Wizkid); “Sensational” (Chris Brown featuring Davido & Lojay); “Higher” (Burna Boy).
However, “Sensational” by American singer Chris Brown, featuring Davido and Lojay, was designated a “Look Out For” by Billboard.
Billboard also noted that Burna Boy’s “Higher” is a strong contender given the singer’s pedigree.
“Water” by South African youngster Tyla won the inaugural Best African Music Performance award last year.
Tems is also predicted to win the Best Global Music Album category with her debut album, “Born In The Wild.”
The other nominees in the category are “Alkebulan II” (Matt B featuring Royal Philharmonic Orchestra); “Paisajes” (Ciro Hurtado); “Heis” (Rema); “Historias De Un Flamenco” (Antonio Rey).
Interestingly, Tems is the only prior Grammy winner in the category this year.
However, Billboard observed that Antonio Rey’s “Historias De Un Flamenco” is a strong candidate in the category.
The Grammys are known for unexpected shocks, so it is unclear whether expectations will equal reality.
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