By Eric Elezuo
Nigeria’s born music prodigy, Tems, who was born Temilade Openiyi, is nothing short of sensation, a force to reckon with, and if her profile is anything to give by, a clean sheet of zero scandal. Tems is one celebrity singer, whose name only resonates with the positives, and has consciously made herself scarce with any form of bad energy. She is a celebrity worth celebrating.
Born on June 11, 1995, and looking forward to her 30th birthday, Tems, in two short months of 2025, has landed landmark achievements that have left his peers and contemporaries gaping in wonderment.
On February 13, 2025, she landed for the second time in her prolific seven years old professional musical career, the prestigious and dream of every singer, the Grammy Award. She is also an Oscar nominee in singing, songwriting and producing. And only last weekend, narrowly lost out at the Mobo Award to a fellow Nigerian.
At the Grammys, Tems saw off the likes of Yemi Alade, Burna Boy and Wizkid to take home the Best African Music Performance Grammy for her hit Love Me Jeje. The category is running for its second year. Its introduction has been widely acknowledged as a recognition of the impact of African artists on the global music scene.
Aside from the Best African Music Performance, Tems was nominated in two other categories – Best Global Music Album for Born in the Wild and Best R&B Song for Burning. Across her career she has now received eight nominations in all.
While making an emotional acceptance speech, she said her “heart was beating so fast”.
The beautiful singer also praised her mother on the Los Angeles stage.
“Wow, dear God thank you so much for putting me on this stage and bringing this team, and tomorrow is my mum’s birthday and this is her first Grammys.
“I just want to thank you mum,” she said gesturing towards her, “because she has done a lot for me and my brother.”
Love Me Jeje, which samples a line from Seyi Sodimu’s 1997 Nigerian classic of the same name, has racked up 125 million listens on Spotify and 21 million views on YouTube.
The award places Tems on top list of Nigerian to have two Grammys to her name after winning the Best Melodic Rap Performance in 2023 for featuring on Future’s hit Wait For U.
Also in February, the Dowen College, Lagos product, who is also a graduate of a Monash South Africa, for her tertiary education, where she obtained a degree in Economics, joined the San Diego FC ownership group as a club partner ahead of their 2025 MLS expansion season.
While her move makes her the first African woman to own – in part or full – a professional team in the USA, it however, adds to the growing number of African women who are taking ownership roles in clubs outside Africa.
The SDFC chairman, Sir Mohamed Mansour noted in a statement that “We are delighted that Tems has joined San Diego FC as a club partner.
“Tems is a globally significant artist who will help us to reach new audiences and spread the word about our unique project, which of course has its foundations in sub-Saharan Africa through the unique Right to Dream organization.”
Delighted, she took to her Instagram handle to share her excitement about her investment, expressing her deep connection to football.
She wrote: “Hey San Diego, it’s Tems, and I’m so excited to be a part of SDFC. I am thrilled to join San Diego FC’s ownership group and be part of a club that celebrates creativity, culture, and community. Football unites people in a powerful way, and I’m eager to help build something special in San Diego.”
“I have always loved football. Growing up, I watched my brother play with his friends, and I was always intrigued.”
Reports have it that beyond her ownership ambitions, Tems is also committed to developing young football talents through a partnership with Right to Dream Academy, pointing to the parallels between music and sports in providing opportunities for young people.
Following her landmark achievements, celebrated Nigerians, especially politicians, have reached out to her in congratulations. President Bola Tinubu, while commending the singers, said she brought “pride” to the country on the global stage for the “second time”.
Tems took her destiny into her own hands when in 2015, she made up her mind never to listen to any other music while she craft hers so as to have her own distinct originality devoid of sounding like popular celebrity singers. She took more steps towards self production, coming out in 2018 and 2019 with know singers before hitting her album in 2020.
She began making a name for herself in 2018 with the release of her self-produced debut single Mr Rebel.
Tems gained further attention in 2019 with Try Me. Her international profile was boosted after being featured on Wizkid’s song Essence, which earned her several award nominations, including one for a Grammy.
She has received various accolades throughout her career, including multiple NAACP Image Awards, a Soul Train Music Award and BET Awards.
She however, rose to prominence after being featured on Wizkid’s 2020 single “Essence”, which peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart following the release of the remix version with Justin Bieber. The song earned her a Grammy Award nomination. That same year, she was featured on the song “Fountains” by Canadian rapper Drake.
The Wikipedia captured more of her rise as follows:
“In 2020, Tems released her debut extended play, For Broken Ears. Her second extended play, If Orange Was a Place (2021), was released after she signed a record deal with RCA Records. In 2022, Tems’ vocals from her song “Higher” were sampled by Future on his single, “Wait for U”, which led to her being credited as a featured artist alongside Drake on the song. It debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100, making her the first African artist to debut at number one and the second Nigerian artist to top the chart. The song earned her the Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance. Tems covered Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry” for the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack album in July 2022 and in the same month, her song “Free Mind” from her debut EP debuted on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 46 and breaking the female record for longest charting number one song on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. She also co-wrote and rendered background vocals on the song “Lift Me Up” by Rihanna, which earned her nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media.
“In 2024, Tems released her debut studio album Born in the Wild to critical acclaim. The album reached the top thirty in the Netherlands, Switzerland and in the United Kingdom where it peaked at number 24. She further embarked on her ongoing Born in the Wild Tour, a supporting world tour. Tems received three nominations at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Global Music Album, “Burning” for Best R&B song and won “Love Me JeJe” for Best African Music Performance.”
Throughout her career, Tems has received many accolades, including two Grammy Awards, a Billboard Women in Music Award, four NAACP Image Awards, four BET Awards and three Soul Train Music Award.
In her seven shirt years in the music industry, Tems has given mean to her name, Temilade, which translates to “the crown is mine”.
A Nigerian of Yoruba origin, Tems relocated with her family to the United Kingdom in her infant days, but returned to Nigeria when she was five years old. She had lived in Ilupeju, Lekki and Ajah.
Tems early beginning was fraught with challenges among which is the bullying she suffered at high school because of her voice. Undeterred, she joined her school choir at 11, and soon began singing in falsetto. It was the sharp eyes of her music teacher that discovered her, and went ahead to coach her towards becoming a voice in piano playing. Tems often practiced singing with her brother, who often accompanied her on guitar.
Tems has not looked back since her first single debuted in 2018, the shenanigans of the Ugandan government against her and Omah Lay in 2020 notwithstanding. She is a role music, who has consistently remained on the winning without stain, and without noise.
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