September 12, 2023, has, without doubt, become a historic day in the life of Divine Ikubor (Rema) as the Afrobeats singer became the first winner of the Best Afrobeats Award at the Video Music Award (VMA) 2023 show with American artist Selena Gomez.

Since the release of the remix of his smash hit, Calm Down, in 2022, with the gorgeous American singer and actress Selena Gomez, the single has been topping charts and making headlines for both artists, especially Rema.

The song is a perfect mix between Afrobeats and pop, with Selena’s sultry vocals delivering a wonderful melody in listeners’ ears worldwide. It is no surprise that the song, in all its glory, has been in the Billboard Top 10 Hits for months.

2023 VMA Best Afrobeats Nominees

Among the list of nominees in the 2023 VMA Best Afrobeats Award category were:

Libianca – People

Fireboy DML & Asake – Bandana

Burna Boy – It’s plenty

Ayra Starr – Rush

Wizkid ft Ayra Start – 2 Sugar

Davido & Musa Keys – Unavailable

Although the Calm Down singers won the Afrobeats Award, the song was nominated for other awards, namely the Best Collaboration and Song of the Year.

On September 3, Rema and Selena Gomez also took home awards for their track at the 2023 Headies Award, which was held in the United States. The duo each received awards, with the Charm singer taking home three awards for the Best Male Artiste, Digital Artiste of the Year, and African Artiste of the Year, Selena Gomez being awarded the International Artiste of the Year.

At the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), The Single Soon singer gave a shout-out to Nigeria when receiving the award, as she was cheered by her best friend, Taylor Swift, who was the most nominated at the VMA show.

“Thank you so much, Rema, for believing in me and thank you for choosing me to be a part of such an incredible song that’s been able to break records. Thank you to all of you for listening, and for streaming; I could not be any more honoured. I wanna send all my love to Nigeria, thank you.”