MTV VMAs: Rema beats Wizkid, Davido, Burnaboy to win first-ever Best Afrobeats award

Rema and Selena Gomez’s collaboration ‘Calm Down’ has made history by winning the prestigious Best Afrobeats award at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs). The star-studded event took place on Tuesday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, celebrating the exceptional musical talents that have graced the global stage. Rema and Selena Gomez’s ‘Calm Down’ had already made waves by earning three nominations in the categories of Best Collaboration, Song of the Year, and Best Afrobeats However, it was in the Best Afrobeats category that this remarkable duo left an indelible mark, making history as the inaugural winners in this newly established category. Rema’s ‘Calm Down,’ was nominated alongside Burna Boy’s ‘It’s Plenty,’ Davido feat Musa Key’s ‘Unavailable,’ Ayra Starr’s ‘Rush,’ Libianca’s ‘People,’ Wizkid feat Ayrra Starr’s ‘2 Sugar,’ and Fireboy DML’s ‘Bandana. The track ‘Calm Down,’ which was originally released on August 25, 2022, garnered attention for its unique fusion of Afrobeats and pop elements. Exploits of REMA’s Calm Down on music charts The remix of the song achieved incredible success, becoming the first-ever track to maintain a position on the Billboard US Afrobeats Songs chart for an entire year. Additionally, it secured the coveted spot of being the First No.1 Hit on The Official MENA Chart. Meanwhile, recall Vanguard reported that “Calm Down” has garnered one billion streams on Spotify, a global online streaming platform. Victor Okpala, Spotify’s Artiste and Label Partnerships Manager for West Africa, announced the feat in a statement on Sunday.