VMA Award Nominations: Here are the nominees for the Best Afrobeats category

The VMA nominations are open, a few Nigerian artists have made Nigeria proud by being nominated in the Best Afrobeats category.

Talented singer/dancer Ayra Starr was nominated for her song Last Heartbreak Song, in which she featured American singer Giveon.

Recall that when Ayra Starr teased the video of the song, she hid Giveon’s face, which raised a lot of speculation as to who the mystery man was before his identity was later revealed.

Burnaboy was also nominated under this category, for his song City Boys. This song became an anthem of some sorts when it was released.

The catchy lyrics made it trend, alongside the stomping dance routine that became very popular on social media, and it had people stomping the ground whenever the song came up.

American singer Chris Brown made it to the Afrobeats category with his song Sensational, in which he featured Davido and Lojay.

The song was indeed sensational, as it made waves upon its release, and it topped charts in many platforms.

Chris Brown and Davido have worked on a handful of projects over the past few years, and they’ve mostly been successful. Their most recent collaboration is on the song ‘Hmm’, which is doing quite well.

Tems was also nominated for the Afrobeats category, via her song Love me Jeje, which is part of her recent album.

Over the years, Tems has bagged quite a number of awards, including a Grammy, BET award, and a host of others.

Her distinctive sound has helped her go places beyond the Nigerian borders at a quick pace.

South Africa’s Tyla was nominated under this category for her song Water, which created the buzz around her name in the first place.

Tyla’s song Water won her a lot of awards, including a Grammy, under which Davido and other Nigerian artists lost to her.

Lastly, we have American singer Usher with his song Ruin, in which he featured Nigerians producer and singer Pheelzgood.

Usher’s nomination has created a huge buzz about cultural appropriation, with the likes of music journalist Joey Akan criticizing his nomination, and chiding Nigerian artists for selling out their birthrights.