Nigerian Afrobeats star Davido and his wife Chioma Adeleke made a stylish appearance on the red carpet at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday evening, posing together in coordinated black ensembles at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
The couple exuded confidence and elegance as they stepped out for cameras ahead of the ceremony, which saw Davido nominated in the Best African Music Performance category for his collaboration With You featuring Omah Lay. The song competed against four other African acts for the coveted award.
South African singer Tyla ultimately won the Best African Music Performance category for her single Push 2 Start during the Awards Premiere Ceremony, defeating Davido, Burna Boy, Ayra Starr, Wizkid, and Ugandan artist Eddy Kenzo. This marks Tyla’s second consecutive victory in the category, following her historic win two years ago when the award was introduced.
The Best African Music Performance category featured Love by Burna Boy, With You by Davido and Omah Lay, Hope and Love by Eddy Kenzo and Mehran Matin, and Gimme Dat by Ayra Starr featuring Wizkid. The Recording Academy established the category in 2023 to recognize emerging sounds from the continent, including Afrobeats, Amapiano, highlife and other African genres.
Trevor Noah hosted the 68th Grammy Awards for the sixth consecutive time, honoring the biggest musical achievements of the past year. The ceremony brought together artists from across the globe competing for golden gramophone trophies across 95 categories, celebrating recordings released between September 2024 and August 2025.
Rapper Kendrick Lamar led the nominations with nine nods for his album GNX, followed by Lady Gaga, Jack Antonoff and Cirkut with seven nominations each. Other notable nominees included Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter, Leon Thomas and SZA, all receiving multiple nominations across different genres.
Nigerian artists maintained a strong presence at the ceremony. Burna Boy earned nominations in two major categories, with Love competing in the Best African Music Performance category and his album No Sign of Weakness nominated for Best Global Music Album. This extends Burna Boy’s streak to seven consecutive years of Grammy nominations, making him the first African artist to achieve this milestone.
Nigerian American country artist Shaboozey won Best Country Duo or Group Performance for his single Amen alongside Jelly Roll. He used his acceptance speech to address the current political climate in the United States, stating that immigrants built the country.
The nominations for Best African Music Performance marked another chapter in Nigeria’s growing presence at the Grammy Awards. Singer Tems won the category at the 2025 ceremony for her song Love Me Jeje, becoming the first Nigerian to win in that category. She also holds multiple Grammy wins, including Best Melodic Rap Performance in 2023 for her feature on Future’s Wait for You.
Davido, born David Adeleke, earned his nomination after being accepted as a voting member of the Recording Academy last year, joining a global community of music professionals who determine awards. He celebrated his nomination in November, sharing videos dancing to his hit song With You and captioning the post with messages thanking God and saying the job was not finished.
The 68th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony aired live on CBS and streamed on Paramount+. The event featured performances from Justin Bieber, Rosé, Bruno Mars, Tyler the Creator, Sabrina Carpenter and Lady Gaga. Lauryn Hill held a special tribute to D’Angelo and Roberta Flack during the evening’s programming.
The ceremony also included tributes to those recently lost in the creative community, with Reba McEntire joined by Brandy Clark and Lukas Nelson for the In Memoriam segment. A special tribute to Ozzy Osbourne featured Post Malone, Andrew Watt, Chad Smith, Duff McKagan and Slash.
African music’s prominence at the awards reflected the continent’s growing influence on global sounds. From Lagos to Johannesburg, Accra to Nairobi, African artists continue influencing how audiences worldwide dance, remember, mourn and celebrate, according to music industry observers tracking the continent’s impact.
The Recording Academy has expanded and diversified its membership in recent years, incorporating more voices with lived experience across wider arrays of musical cultures. As the voting body becomes more reflective of the world’s actual musical communities, the awards naturally shift, creating an environment where African musicians play an essential role in defining the conversation.
