At the 67th Annual Grammy Awards 2025, Nigerian singer Temilade Openiyi, known as Tems, secured her second Grammy, winning Best African Music Performance for her song Love Me JeJe.
In a heartfelt acceptance speech, Tems expressed gratitude for her journey and the people who have supported her.
“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, mum, because she’s really done a lot for me and my brother. I want to thank my team—thank you so much. To God be the glory, because honestly, He’s changed my life so much. Thank you so much, thank you God.”
Tems first rose to Grammy prominence in 2023, when she won Best Melodic Rap Performance for her collaboration on Future’s Wait For You, featuring Drake. Tems won in a highly competitive category that also included Yemi Alade’s Tomorrow, Asake and Wizkid’s MMS, Chris Brown’s Sensational featuring Davido and Lojay, and Burna Boy’s Higher.
Some context
Tems first gained international recognition in 2020 when she was featured on Wizkid’s hit single Essence. The song, which later received a remix featuring Justin Bieber, became a global sensation and peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, earning her a Grammy nomination. That same year, she collaborated with Drake on Fountains, further solidifying her presence in the global music industry.
Her debut EP, For Broken Ears (2020), introduced her unique alte sound, followed by If Orange Was a Place (2021) after signing with RCA Records. In 2022, Future sampled her song Higher for his track Wait for U, which featured Drake and credited Tems as a featured artist.
The song debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the first African artist to debut at the top of the chart. Wait for U went on to win Best Melodic Rap Performance at the 2023 Grammy Awards, marking her first win.
What to know
Tems’ influence continued to grow as she covered Bob Marley’s No Woman, No Cry for the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack. She also co-wrote Rihanna’s Lift Me Up, which earned her Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Grammy nominations.
- In addition, her song Free Mind became a long-running hit on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, breaking records for a female artist.
- In 2024, she released her debut studio album, Born in the Wild, to critical acclaim. The album charted in several countries, including the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, and led to her Born in the Wild world tour.
- At this year’s Grammy Awards, Tems received three nominations: Best African Music Performance (Love Me JeJe), Best R&B Song (Burning), and Best Global Music Album (Born in the Wild).
With two Grammy wins and numerous accolades, including BET, NAACP Image, and Soul Train Music Awards, Tems continues to position herself as one of Africa’s most influential global female artists.
