Afrobeat singer, Burna boy lost the 2020 Grammy Award to Beninese singer, Angelique Kidjo who claimed the award for her album, Celia.
Prior to the ceremony, many Nigerians were rooting for Burna Boy to bring home the coveted gong, making the Grammys one of the most talked about topics on Nigerian social media in the last couple of days.
The 62nd annual Grammy Awards finally held at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, Calfornia yesterday.
For the 59-year-old Angelique Kidjo, this year’s win marks her fourth win in the category and fourth Grammy win overall.
And in her acceptance speech, Kidjo dedicated the award to Burna Boy as she celebrates the new generation of African artistes.
Four years ago on this stage, I was telling you that the new generations of artists coming from Africa gonna take you by storm and the time has come. Celia Cruz, for me she’s the goddess of salsa. She’s the queen of salsa. She is one of those artists that taught me at a young age that my gender cannot define who I am, that I can do everything I wanted to do.
In November 2019, Burna Boy was nominated for the Grammy in the Best World Music category for his album, ‘African Giant’ in race against Altin Gun (Gece), Bokante & Metropole Orkest conducted by Jules Buckley (What Heat), Nathalie Joachim with Spektral Quartet (Fanm D’Ayiti) and Angelique Kidjo (Celia).
Upon losing the award, Burna Boy, 28, joins the growing list of talented Nigerians like King Sunny Ade, Babatunde Olatunji, Seun Kuti, Femi Kuti, Wizkid, Timaya and Kah Lo who have all been nominated for the prestigious award.
