Lions Crib Artist Of The Year: Rema

As Afrobeats continue spreading like a blazing inferno across the globe, Mavin singer Rema has won our Artist of the Year pick for 2023.

Rema’s “Calm Down” song remix featuring Selena Gomez ensured the Nigerian stayed on top of the globe for the year as the song made history by becoming the highest charting African song in Billboard’s history.

“Calm Down” stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 57 weeks as it became the anthem for major global events. It could be heard in football stadiums across the globe and was also a major hit in clubhouses around the world.

Related: Selena Gomez Is Not Dating Rema; Who Is She Involved With?

The song also won a number of awards, such as the “Best Afrobeats” category in the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs). Winning this category meant that Rema became the first artist to win the inaugural category and only the second Nigerian act to win an award at the VMAs after Wizkid in 2021.

Rema also became the first artist to win the inaugural category of “Best Afrobeats” in the MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs) in 2023.

The global football community, which dances to Rema’s “Calm Down” during halftime of matches, also saw the singer perform at the biggest football awards ceremony, the Ballon d’Or in Paris, France.

Rema is still enjoying commercial successes from the song, but he has gone on to release more hit sounds such as Holiday, DND, and more.

The Afrobeats star said during a Q&A session with Savant that one of his greatest qualities is being able to see the future, and it is not out of place to predict a bigger future for the Nigerian singer.