20th November, 2023
By Taiwo Okanlawon
Superstar singers, Burna Boy and Rema won the inaugural Afrobeats categories at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards on Sunday, November 19.
Burna Boy won the Top Afrobeats Artiste, while Rema’s ‘Calm Down’ remix featuring Selena Gomez won the Top Afrobeats Song.
The ‘African Giant’ crooner beat stiff competition from Wizkid, Rema, Tems, and Cameroonian star, Libianca, on his way to making history as the first-ever winner of the newly-created Top Afrobeats Artiste category.
Similarly, Rema’s ‘Calm Down’ remix saw off competition from Ayra Starr’s ‘Rush’, Oxlade’s ‘Ku Lo Sa’, Libianca’s ‘People’, and Victony’s ‘Soweto’ with Rema and Don Toliver, take home the price for the maiden Top Afrobeats Song category.
However, the ‘Calm Down’ remix was lost in the Top Billboard Collaboration, Top Billboard Excl. U.S. Song, Top Billboard Global 200 Song, and Top Radio Song categories.
American singer Morgan Wallen led the winners’ chart with 11 awards, while Taylor Swift followed closely with 10 wins.