I am among those in Africa who do not really give much concern to the Grammy Awards, and it baffles me a lot how many people, especially Africans, have taken the Grammys as the biggest form of validation in the music industry. Meanwhile, the Grammys are actually designed mainly for whites, or better put, Americans, because they are more in number and are given priority, while Africans are usually offered just one or two slots.
The just-concluded edition, which took place two days ago at the time of writing this, generated a lot of controversies as usual, and I must say this year was louder than last year. Nigerians, in particular, took it very personally, but I would not blame us either because four Nigerian artists were nominated alongside other African musicians for just one slot. Why would the heat not be too much? Lol.
At the end of the day, the South African artiste, Tyla, won with her song "Push 2 Start," and the whole of Nigeria saw it as a slap in the face. 😅
Push 2 Start by Tyla: I went to check the song on YouTube, and I would not say it was my first time listening to it. I had heard the song being played before, but I did not know she was the one behind it. It is not actually "big" compared to other nominated tracks in terms of popularity, especially in Africa, but it won, and that settles it. It is actually a nice song, though.
Another song that was nominated and that people were too optimistic would win was "With You" by Davido featuring Omah Lay. Gosh! In terms of popularity, African vibe, and the weight it carries, this song has it all. I would not lie, although I was not all that interested in the Grammy Awards, I rooted for this song because it was perfectly crafted. But in the end, it lost, and I felt the pain of Davido because he had hoped to win after a year-to-year series of nominations.
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Gimme Dat by Wizkid and Ayra Starr is another song that was expected to come out on top, but it was not hyped as much as Davido’s "With You." This is a nice song too, and both artists did an excellent job.