The 68th Annual Grammys on February 1, 2026, delivered another dramatic chapter in the global music story — but for Nigerian music fans, it was a night of near-misses rather than celebration. After months of buzz around his nomination, Davido’s much-anticipated Grammy breakthrough didn’t happen as the South African sensation Tyla walked away with the Best African Music Performance award for her song Push 2 Start, beating out Davido, Burna Boy, Ayra Starr, Wizkid and others in an intensely competitive lineup.
Tyla’s win — her second in this category since its creation — underscores her rising influence in global music and the increasingly competitive landscape for African artists on the Grammy stage.
For Davido, who has been one of Afrobeats’ most visible ambassadors around the world, the loss will sting — especially as With You (featuring Omah Lay) was tipped by many fans and analysts as a strong contender. The song’s chart success and massive streaming figures only added to the anticipation.
But while the trophy didn’t come home this year, the nominations themselves reflect how far Davido and his colleagues have travelled in global recognition.
The Grammy Awards are the music industry’s peer-voted honours, presented each year by the Recording Academy in the United States to celebrate excellence in recorded music. The first ceremony took place in 1959, with 28 awards handed out in categories that have expanded dramatically over the decades to include hundreds of genres and specialties. The famous golden gramophone trophy — the Grammy — has become a symbol of artistic achievement worldwide.
Over time the ceremony has grown into one of global cultural importance, drawing artists from every continent and musical tradition — a context that makes every African nomination noteworthy and every win historic.
Nigeria’s journey with the Grammys predates Afrobeats’ global explosion. Legendary singer Sade Adu was among the first artists of Nigerian descent to win a Grammy, setting an early benchmark for excellence in international music. Since then, a handful of Nigerian artists have earned Grammy recognition — including Burna Boy with his Best Global Music Album win in 2021, Wizkid for his role in Brown Skin Girl, and Tems, who has now secured multiple trophies of her own.
Despite that proud history, no Nigerian artist returned home with a Grammy in 2026 — a rare outcome given the heavy representation in nominations this year.
- Category competition: The Best African Music Performance category — only introduced in 2024 — drew heavyweights across the continent, not just Nigeria. Tyla’s repeat win showed that voters recognized a particular artistic moment in her work this year that edged out others.
- Global grading: Voters in the Recording Academy assess work on a wide range of musical and technical criteria, often balancing cultural novelty with universal appeal.
- Shift in focus: With multiple blockbuster releases across genres at this year’s Grammys, from Kendrick Lamar to Bad Bunny, the spotlight on global African music was highly competitive, and every nominee faced a stacked field.
All that said, Davido’s consistent presence — this was his fifth Grammy nomination — confirms his status as a global force, even if the golden gramophone remains just out of reach for now.
For Afrobeats and Nigerian music as a whole, the 2026 Grammys were a reminder: nomination is now commonplace, but victory remains elusive in an increasingly crowded global market. While Davido heads back to his international tour schedule and new projects, fans are already looking ahead to the next chapter in the Grammy journey.
