The 64th Grammy Awards is just a few days away, precisely the 4th of April, 2022, scheduled to take place at the Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas.
Although the prestigious award experienced a shift in date a couple of times, due to the hike in the cases of the new variant of Covid-19, described as Omricon, alas, we have a date and are set to experience history being made all over again.
The recording academy unveiled the nomination list on the 23rd of November 2022, giving music lovers and artists an insight into the list of musicians all over the world who are due for recognition this season, following years of hard work and consistency.
Although we have other Nigerian musicians on the prestigious nomination list, our focus today is on Nigeria’s Afrobeat superstar, Aodeji Balogun, widely known as Wizkid, who added a feather to his cap by bagging double nominations.
Wizkid was nominated for the Best Global Music Performance alongside other African superstars, including Femi Kuti, Burna Boy, Tems, and Angelique Kidjo. Made In Lagos was also nominated for Best Global Music Album. You will recall that Wizkid bagged his 1st ever-grammy Award for his collaboration with Singer Beyonce and her daughter Blue Ivy for the track Brown Skin Girl in the Best Music Video category.
Although some naysayers can’t seem to overlook the fact that it was in a collaborative category and that he wouldn’t have won if not for that.
Nonetheless, we have witnessed Wizkid work hard over the last year, and we are positive that his consistency did not go unnoticed by the recording academy. This is why we have put together 10 solid reasons why we think that Wizkid will take home both categories.
Hold tight while I take my time to present them to you.
1. Wizkid is the1st Nigerian artist in history to simultaneously chart on the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 (16 weeks).
This is no mere coincidence and it takes only a G.O.A.T to achieve this. Others may have tried in the past, but no one ever got this close.
2. Tems Influence on the official song of the Summer Essence.
She sounds weird, She has no place here, Her songs are unrelatable…
These were words echoed by the minority when this rare breed burst into the mainstream with her song, Mr. Rebel In 2018.
However, it takes one great mind to spot another in the crowd, and that was exactly what Wizkid did when he decided to work with items. He was confident and believed in her creativity. Not many artists are bold enough to get in tune with a voice like Tems’.
3. He is one of the most awarded artists of the 2020’s decade.
Wizkid is not only one of the most awarded artists of the decade, he is also the only Nigerian artist on the list. Can you beat that??? Although the likes of Burna Boy and Davido claim to be G.O.A.T, the numbers stay true and revealing.
4. Made In Lagos is the Highest-charting Nigerian album of all time on the Billboard 20 chart (#28)
5. MIL is the first Nigerian album to spend multiple weeks at #1 on the Billboard World Albums chart (3 weeks).
6. Wizkid is the first African artist to sell out the London 02 arena in 12 minutes.
7. Wizkid is the 10th most awarded artist in the world.
8. The recording Academy itself has crowned Wizkid Afrobeat Giant Ahead of his contenders. The acknowledgment was recently made via their Youtube channel.
9. Surpassed 1 billion streams across Apple Music, Audiomack, Spotify, YouTube, Boomplay, and Pandora in 10 months.
10. We also have cause to believe that the mere fact that Wizkid was considered for nomination in 2 heavy categories is enough assurance that he just may take home one, if not both awards.
