Tems becomes first female African artiste to hit 1 billion streams on Spotify

• Nigerian singer Tems becomes the first female African artiste to surpass 1 billion streams on Spotify.
• She achieved the milestone with Wait For U, a song featuring Future and Drake.
• Wait For U debuted at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, making Tems the first African artist to debut atop the chart.
• The song earned two Grammy nominations at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, winning Best Melodic Rap Performance.

Nigerian singer and songwriter Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, has made history by becoming the first female African artiste to surpass 1 billion streams on Spotify.

This remarkable feat was achieved through her collaboration with American rappers Future and Drake on the hit song Wait For U, which recently crossed the 1 billion streams mark on the global streaming platform.

Released in 2022, Wait For U samples Higher, a track from Tems’ 2020 debut EP, For Broken Ears.

The song gained massive global recognition and debuted at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, making Tems the first African artist to debut at the top of the prestigious chart.

Beyond its commercial success, Wait For U received two nominations at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards: Best Rap Song and Best Melodic Rap Performance, ultimately winning the latter.

In other news, The 67th Grammys undoubtedly saw Nigerian artists dominating the Best African Music Performance category.

Sensational music star, Tems took home the award courtesy of her hit track, ‘Love Me Jeje’, marking her second Grammy win.

The category, which was introduced in 2024 and won by South African singer Tyla, saw Nigerian artists featured in all the nominated songs.

Tems’ win was a significant achievement, as she beat out strong competition from other notable artists.

Yemi Alade’s “Tomorrow”, Asake’s “MMS” featuring Wizkid, Chris Brown’s “Sensational” featuring Davido and Lojay, and Burna Boy’s “Higher” were all nominated, but Tems’ performance stood out.

Be it as it may, only women have won the ‘Best African Music Performance’ category since its creation.