Billboard, a prominent media outlet, has compiled a list of five songs that are potential contenders for the newly introduced “Best African Music Performance” category at the upcoming 66th Grammy Awards.
As fans eagerly await the announcement of the Grammy Awards nominees for 2024, scheduled for November 10, 2023, Billboard has provided insights into the songs that could secure nominations in the exciting “Best African Performance” category.
This new category holds significance as part of the Grammy Awards’ expansion in anticipation of their 66th edition. Harvey Mason Jr., the CEO of the Recording Academy, explained the rationale behind its creation, stating, “There’s a threshold that you like to see for a genre of music before it actually could make for a healthy category. When you talk about music originating from Africa, you witness the growth of Afrobeats, amapiano, and other genres emerging from the continent over the past three to five years. That initiated discussions on whether it’s the right time for this category.”
Billboard also shed light on the category’s significance, stating, “The new category reflects the surging commercial and cultural appeal of music by African artists in the United States. Its growth in recent years has been remarkable: from Davido’s 2017 single ‘Fall,’ the first Nigerian song to achieve RIAA gold certification in the United States in 2020, to Wizkid and Tems’ ‘Essence,’ the first Afropop song to break into the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 in 2021.
Burna Boy’s ‘Love, Damini’ debuted at No. 14 on the Billboard 200 in 2022, marking the highest-charting Afro-fusion album in chart history. In May, Rema and Selena Gomez’s ‘Calm Down’ achieved the milestone of topping both the U.S. Afrobeats Songs and Pop Airplay charts, peaking at No. 3 on the Hot 100 (though it was released too early to be eligible).”
Check List Of The Songs Below;
Sugar – Wizkid ft. Ayra Starr
People – Libianca
Unavailable – Davido ft. Musa Keys
PNDS – Adekunle Gold ft. Zinoleesky Amapiano – Asake ft. Olamide