Were Nigerians Snubbed at the Grammys?

Every year the Grammys have been known to have undeserving winners or as Jay-Z said a few people who don't belong in the category at all. South African singer Tyla won her first Grammy for Best African Music Performance category, and while her song "Water" became one of the biggest songs of 2023, what does that mean for Nigerians like Burna Boy, Asake, Davido and Ayra Starr?

While Tyla does deserve an award for her hit song, a Grammy seems a little extensive for a one-hit wonder. Burna Boy who has gone on a global tour for his "Love, Damini" album which has more hits on Spotify than "Water" was nominated for four Grammys and yet received none. Numbers don't lie. Platinum is what both artists have, but what's one song compared to an album and global tour? Between Boy and Davido they had a total of seven nominations and won none. Fans took to X to voice their opinions.

@UnlimitedEniola tweeted, "Just see the Empty Seats at Grammy's award venue. Poco Lee reaction to Grammy's Davido's snub cap it all. Water by Tyla won Best African Music Performance?? Grammy has actually lost it and make me Water has further watered it down- No Burna Boy, Asake, No Nigerian but no problem for Afrobeats."

@NaijaMusicLover tweeted, "I can't believe what I just witnessed. All our hopes dashed in one night. Davido and Burna Boy deserved better."

Fan @toffic_adam commented on Boy's Instagram post, "It was a win for you , you ain't got an award but you already got some , and the first African to perform on this platform is even bigger than the award itself , this is a big blue print , if this ain't greatness then I don't know what greatness means..."

Many celebrities question the motives behind the Grammys, some questioning the metrics and the marketing. Music enthusiast Adesope Olajide explained on Instagram live that there should be careful and thorough investigation of submissions to avoid conspiracies about the Grammys.

Femi Akeusola, Nigerian photographer and music analyst told BusinessDay, "It's time the Grammys let us in on who votes in these categories, and they should let us know the metrics by which they select their winners. If we do not know the metrics, we cannot hold them accountable when next these kinds of misrepresentations happen."

While Akeusola acknowledges that Tyla deserves an award, he implied that there had to be alternative motives for using Davido in their publicity for the Grammys.

"The Grammys did two stories on Davido and one together with his creative director. If they knew he was not going to win, why do all that publicity just to give the award to someone who is less popular and whose music has less impact on the global stage? It is evident they used Afrobeats for marketing," Akeusola said.

"Water" by Tyla is an R&B song, with little to no afrofusion while the other songs in the category are known for being Afrobeats. By using this category and promoting specific performance to up their revenue, the Grammys, increased views by 32%, which came at the expense of Nigerian musicians and other category nominations.