At the 2026 Grammy Awards, South African singer Tyla defeated Nigerian celebrities Burna Boy, Davido, and Ayra Starr to win Best African Music Performance.
With her song Push 2 Start, Tyla won the prize ahead of Burna Boy’s Love, Davido’s With You featuring Omah Lay, Ayra Starr and Wizkid’s Gimme Dat, and Eddy Kenzo and Mehran Matin’s Hope & Love.
The category, designed to promote African music on the world stage, once again showed strong Nigerian presence, with three Nigerian singers — Burna Boy, Davido and Ayra Starr — making the final selection.
Tyla is a two-time winner in the category since its establishment in 2024, when she first claimed the prize with Water, making her the initial recipient.
ALSO READ: Ayra Starr is Spotify’s Biggest Female Afrobeats Artist
In September 2025, Ayra Starr was praised by Spotify as “the pop star of Afrobeats.”
Tems, a Grammy-winning Nigerian singer, comes in at number two. Libianca, an American-Cameroonian singer, comes in at number three.
British-Nigerian singer Darkoo finished in the top five, while Malian-French superstar Aya Nakamura came in at number four.
Despite winning every major Afrobeats award in the last year, South African artist Tyla was curiously left off the list.
Rema is number one of the list, Ayra Starr took the second spot, while CKay completes the top 3.
Burna Boy and Wizkid are number 4 and 5, respectively.
In August, veteran Afrobeats artist Jaywon called out Grammy-nominated singer Ayra Starr over her fashion sense.
Reacting to a photo of Ayra Starr in a tiny blue bra that barely covers half of her cleavage, Jaywon questioned her dress sense and wondered if she doesn’t have parents to correct her.
The veteran Afrobeats star commented after a fan asked for his opinion on Ayra Starr’s “indecent dressing.”
The X user asked, “Bro, Ayra Starr just posted this hot photo. Any comments?”
Responding, Jaywon wrote, “She no get mama and papa?”
Jaywon’s remark elicited mixed reactions, with many scolding him for meddling in Ayra Starr’s personal life.
Starr has been the subject of criticisms on the Nigerian social media space due to what her critics described as “indecent dressing.”
Starr previously revealed that she lost her father at a young age and was raised singlehandedly by her mother.
