Mavin Records wunderkind Rema took up the Best Afrobeats award for his remix of the song “Calm Down” with Selena Gomez at the MTV Music Awards on Tuesday.
The group received recognition at the VMAs for their efforts on “Calm Down,” winning Best Afrobeats.
Rema said as he accepted the medal, “This means so much seeing Afrobeats grow this big.” Rema and Selena both expressed their gratitude to everyone who contributed to the achievement because it was a high award in a difficult category.
Over the weekend, the song received more than one billion Spotify streams.
Rema and Selena Gomez’s hit song was selected as the inaugural winner of the newly established “Best Afrobeats Song” category, beating out fellow countrymen Wizkid’s “2 Sugar,” Burna Boy’s “It’s Plenty,” Fireboy and Asake’s “Bandana,” Davido’s “Unavailable,” Ayra Starr’s “Rush,” and Cameroonian singer Libianca’s “People.”
Shakira received the prestigious Video Vanguard award for the night and gave a hip-shaking, career-spanning performance to accept it. Taylor Swift went on to win the night’s top prize.
Swift extended her rule over the world by winning several prizes, including Best Song, Best Pop, Best Direction, and the highly coveted Video of the Year award, which she earned for her popular song “Anti-Hero.”
For the first time in a while, the millennium’s adolescent heartthrobs NSYNC appeared on stage to present her with the Best Pop award, leaving Swift, who is about to go on the first billion-dollar tour, fanning her cheeks.
Swift exclaimed as she accepted the highest honour of the evening—which she previously won in 2022—”This is unbelievable. I just want to say that the fact that this is a fan-voted award means so much to me.”
