Calm Down, Coroner! Rema Wins Inaugural MTV EMA Best Afrobeats Award. Nigerian singer, Divine Ikubor, popularly known as Rema has won the inaugural MTV Europe Music Award for Best Afrobeats. He was nominated alongside French superstar Aya Nakamura and Nigerian singers Asake, Ayra Starr, Burna Boy, and Davido.
Despite the cancellation of the 2023 MTV EMAs due to the Israel-Hamas war, the winners were remotely announced on November 5, 2023.
It wasn’t all win for the Afrobeats singer as he lost the Best Collaboration category to Jung Kook and Latto’s “Seven” for his “Calm Down.” collaboration with Selena Gomez,
Furthermore, Burna Boy, the Grammy-winning Nigerian artist, also encountered a series of losses, failing to secure awards in three categories: Best Afrobeats, Best African Act, and Best Live Performer. These losses came shortly after his unsuccessful seven-nomination run at the 2023 BET Hip-Hop Awards.
On a brighter note, American singer Taylor Swift claimed the spotlight at the 2023 MTV EMAs, walking away with three awards: Best Video, Best Artist, and Best Live.