Nigerian Stars Shine Bright as Rema, Asake, Tems and Ayra Starr Land 2025 MTV VMA Nominations
African music keeps getting bigger on the global scene as popular Nigerian artists Rema, Asake, Tems, Ayra Starr, have been individually nominated for the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs). This recognition is another milestone in Afrobeats’ work on the global stage.
MTV revealed the full list of nominees for the event, which is set to take place on September 7, 2025, at the UBS Arena in New York. Among the newly established twenty genre categories, the Best Afrobeats segment drew widespread attention for celebrating musical storytelling from the African continent.
At the forefront were Asake and Travis Scott’s “Active” with Burna Boy and Travis Scott’s “TaTaTa,” both earning nominations from Nigeria in the Best Afrobeats category. Burna Boy stands out with his dual nominations, the other one is in the Video for Good category with “Higher”, a socially conscious visual that earned widespread acclaim.
Then, Asake also received a second nomination for “Get It Right,” a soulful collaboration with Tems, making him one of the most recognized names in the nominee
For Rema, he earned his spot with the song, Baby (Is It a Crime), a song that captured global attention following the international success of previous hits like “Calm Down”. His sophomore album HE IS, released in July 2024, also earned a Grammy nomination for Best Global Music Album.
Meanwhile, Ayra Starr received a nomination for MTV PUSH Performance of the Year with her viral hit “Last Heartbreak Song.” While she did not appear in the Best Afrobeats lineup, her inclusion as an MTV PUSH finalist highlights her emergence as a great global performer.
This year’s VMAs also sees strong competition from South African star Tyla, nominated in the Best Afrobeats category with “PUSH 2 START” and another nod for Best Choreography, further demonstrating how African music is reshaping creative narratives on a global scale.
According to recent data from the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs Chart, Nigerian artists consistently dominate the top 10 spots, with Rema, Burna Boy, and Ayra Starr frequently featured throughout 2024. Their streaming numbers continue to rise globally, with Rema recently surpassing 2 billion total streams across platforms.
Ayra Starr’s “The Year I Turned 21” also debuted in the top 5 on the UK Albums Chart, making her the youngest Nigerian female artist to achieve that milestone, alongside her recent achievement of becoming the first Nigerian female artist to hit 1 billion views on YouTube.
Together, these nominations underscore the unrivaled impact of Afrobeats in global pop culture. Not only do they mark international recognition for these names, but they also reflect the dominance of Nigerian music.
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