Rema and Selena Gomez have both taken home the 2023 MTV VMAs award for the best Afrobeats song, with their record breaking song “Calm Down”, beating fellow nominees and Afrobeats heavyweights such as Burna Boy, Wizkid and Davido to clinch the category.
The song “Calm Down” which was originally done by Mavin’s entertainer Rema, has been one of his greatest songs since he came into the music, but the remix featuring Selena Gomez, which recently hit one billion streams on a popular music stream App, is one of the globally accepted Nigerian Afrobeats songs so far, and it also shows that Rema has become a household name and one of those pushing the Afrobeats music genre.
Both Rema and Selena Gomez expressed great thanks to everyone who helped make it happen.
Before their VMAs win, Rema had this to say about working on the song: “‘Calm Down’ is about the events that led me to finding love at the time,” Rema told Pitchfork about the song. “It started at a party where I saw a girl who stood out from other girls, so I felt like shooting my shot. We spoke and danced…but her friends didn’t let me get any closer, which killed the vibe, but afterward when they weren’t there, we stayed in touch and hit it off.”
The other nominees in the best Afrobeats category Rema and Selena Gomez were nominated looks like this:
BEST AFROBEATS
Ayra Starr – “Rush” – Mavin Global Holdings
Burna Boy – “It’s Plenty” – Atlantic Records / Spaceship Entertainment Ltd
Davido ft. Musa Keys – “UNAVAILABLE” – Sony Music U.K. / RCA Records
Fireboy DML & Asake – ”Bandana” – Empire Distribution
Libianca – “People” – Sony Music U.K. / RCA Records
Rema & Selena Gomez – “Calm Down” – Mavin Global Holdings Ltd / Jonzing World Entertainment / SMG Music / Interscope Records
Wizkid ft Ayra Starr– “2 Sugar” – Starboy / RCA Records