Afrobeats Superstar, Rema, delivered a sterling performance at this year’s Ballon d’Or held in Paris, France, on Monday.
As usual, he brought on his A-game with twerking dancers while serenading guests with his award-winning Calm Down melody.
Drapped in his commonly preferred black outfit, the 23-year-old took control of the stage to do what he does best and went a step further to exchange handshakes with top footballers in the front row, including French international, Killian Mbappe.
His show, which had some guests singing along, attracted positive reviews from equally excited followers who monitored the event worldwide.
Rema’s performance makes him the first African act to perform at football’s biggest awards ceremony. His appearance was somewhat unsurprising, as football fans had previously jammed to his hit song Calm Down when it was played by a Disc Jockey (DJ) at the finals of the FIFA World Cup held in Qatar.
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The Holiday crooner joins the league of Afrobeat Stars such as Burna Boy and Davido, who have performed at the finals of football events.
Davido performed at the Finals of the 2023 FIFA World Cup, while Burnaboy appeared at the UEFA Champions League finals. Afrobeats Diva, Tiwa Savage, also performed at the coronation of King Charles II early this year.
All these add credence to the global impact of the Afrobeats genre and why the sounds of Africa would continue to dominate global music platforms.
The Bounce composer, in October, won Best Global Artiste and Song of the Year for Calm Down at the Trace Music Awards held in Kigali, Rwanda.
A remix of the tune with Selena Gomez reached No. 3 on Billboard’s Hot 100 this year. Aside from the numerous awards and nominations garnered, the duo has again been listed as a finalist for the 2023 Billboard Awards, scheduled for November 19, 2023.
Other African acts, including Cameron’s Labianca and Nigeria’s Ayra Starr, have also been tipped for the Billboard Awards.
At a tender age, Rema’s impressive record over the years is making some fans refer to him as the ‘Prince of Afrobeats.’
Interestingly, composers Burnaboy and Wizkid have a song titled Ballon D’or, released in 2021, yet they were not the ones to show up on the big day. Hopefully, they’ll make it some other time.
