The star-studded rare event, which took place on Tuesday at the Prudential Centre in Newark, New Jersey, was a celebration of extraordinary musical artists who have made a lasting impression on the global stage.
With three nominations—for Best Collaboration, Song of the Year, and Best Afrobeats—’Calm Down’ had already drawn recognition before this historic win.
But it was the Best Afrobeats category, where this incredible team made history by being the first winners of this brand-new VMAs category, that sealed their place in history.
There were several songs up for consideration in the Best Afrobeats category, including Davido feat. “Unavailable” by Musa Key The songs “Rush” by Ayra Starr, “People” by Libianca, “Wizkid feat. ‘2 Sugar’ by Ayra Starr and ‘Bandana’ by Fireboy DML.
The song “Calm Down,” which was first released on August 25, 2022, received recognition for its superb fusion of Afrobeats and pop elements.
The song’s remix, however, was the one that was most successful, setting a rare record by being at the top of the Billboard US Afrobeats Songs list for a whole year.
Additionally, “Calm Down” earned the distinction of becoming the first No. 1 Hit on The Official MENA Chart, a position of distinction.
Watch the video below;
Rema and Selena Gomez win the #VMA for Best Afrobeats. https://t.co/mLNbmLXyoC pic.twitter.com/BDkTjRSuH2
— Variety (@Variety) September 13, 2023
One thing Taylor Swift is absolutely gonna do is cheer on Selena Gomez (watch til the end!) pic.twitter.com/b0egHF2dT1
— SpotifySwiftie (@SpotifySwiftie) September 13, 2023
Taylor Swift cheering for Selena Gomez and Rema’s #VMAs win.
— Pop Base (@PopBase) September 13, 2023