Grammy 2025: Tems wins ‘Best African music performance’ with Love Me Jeje
At the 67th Annual Grammy Awards in 2025, Nigerian singer Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, secured her second Grammy win by taking home the award for Best African Music Performance with her hit song ‘Love Me JeJe.’
In an emotional acceptance speech, Tems expressed deep gratitude to her team, her mother, and everyone who has supported her throughout her musical journey.
“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,” she shared.
Tems faced fierce competition from renowned artists, including Burna Boy, Asake, and Wizkid for their collaboration on “MMS,” as well as Yemi Alade and Chris Brown’s “Sensational,” which features Davido and Lojay.
This marks Tems’ second Grammy win, following her 2023 victory in the Best Melodic Rap Performance category for her collaboration on Future’s ‘Wait For You,’ featuring Drake.
Tems first gained international recognition in 2020 when she was featured on Wizkid’s global hit ‘Essence.’ The song, later remixed with Justin Bieber, became a worldwide sensation and reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, earning her a Grammy nomination.
That same year, she collaborated with Drake on ‘Fountains,’ further establishing herself as a significant force in global music.
Her debut EP, ‘For Broken Ears’ (2020), introduced her distinctive 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,’ featuring Drake, and credited Tems as a featured artist.
The track debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making Tems the first African artist to achieve a debut at the top of the chart. ‘Wait for U’ later earned her first Grammy in 2023 for Best Melodic Rap Performance.
