A Nigerian musician by the stage name Tems, Temilade Openiyi, won Best International Act at the 2022 BET Awards.
The 2022 award ceremony was held in Los Angeles at the Microsoft Theater. The BET Awards celebrate Black excellence in music, sport, and culture.
The outstanding singer triumphed over Fireboy, Dave from the UK, Dinos from France, Fally Ipupa from the Congo, Little Simz from the UK, Ludmilla from Brazil, Major League Djz from South Africa, and Tayc from France.
After accepting the award, Tems urged women and girls to continue on their chosen paths, stating that the effort would soon bear fruit.
“Thank you very much for this, thank you so much,” she exclaimed. It’s a privilege. I mean, this is my first award event where I’m receiving a prize, so I just want to take this chance to address every single woman and girl watching at home, whether they are young, elderly, or anything. Things like these don’t happen where I’m from.
Tems earlier in the evening won Best Collaboration with Wizkid’s “Essence” featuring Justin Bieber.
The competition for the Essence Music Awards included “Every Change I Get” by DJ Khaled featuring Lil Baby and Lil Durk, “Family Ties” by Baby Seem featuring Kenderick Lamar, “Whole Lotta” by Bia featuring Nicki Minaj, “Way 2 Se*y” by Drake featuring Future and Young Thug, and “Kiss me More” by Doja Cat featuring SZA.
