Afro-pop star, Divine Ikubor aka Rema, has emerged winner of the maiden “Best Afrobeats” award at this year’s MTV Europe Music Awards.
Recall that the organisers introduced a new category called “Best Afrobeats” into the 2023 event.
The pioneer nominees were French superstar, Aya Nakamura, and Nigerian singers, Asake, Ayra Starr, Burna Boy, Davido, and Rema.
The organisers announced the winners on Sunday, November 6, 2023, despite the award ceremony being cancelled amid the Israel-Hamas war.
Rema was adjudged the “Best Afrobeats” winner, while Tanzania’s Diamond Platnumz won the ‘Best African Act’ category.
However, Rema and Selena Gomez’s ‘Calm Down’ lost the “Best Collaboration” category to Jung Kook and Latto’s ‘Seven.’
Grammy-winning Nigerian singer Burna Boy lost three awards, including “Best Afrobeats”, “Best African Act’, and “Best Live Performer.”
This came barely two weeks after he lost all seven nominations at the 2023 BET Hip-Hop Awards.
American singer Taylor Swift led the winners chart with three awards at the 2023 MTV Europe Music Awards, Best Video, Best Artist, and Best Live.