Top Nigerian musicians, including Ayra Starr, Davido, Wizkid, Burna Boy, and Omah Lay, failed to secure awards at the 2026 Grammy Awards, which took place on February 2 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
The ceremony, once again hosted by South African comedian Trevor Noah, saw stiff competition across the Africa-focused categories.
South Africa’s Tyla emerged victorious in the Best African Music Performance category, defeating entries such as Burna Boy’s “Love”, Wizkid and Ayra Starr’s collaboration “Gimme Dat”, Davido and Omah Lay’s “With You”, as well as “Hope & Love” by Eddy Kenzo and Mehran Matin.
Burna Boy was also nominated in the Best Global Music Album category but lost the award to Youssou N’Dour’s acclaimed project, “Eclairer le monde: Light the World”.
Tyla’s latest win adds to her growing Grammy success, following her 2024 victory in the same category for her hit single “Water”.
Nigeria, however, had tasted success in the category the previous year. In 2025, Tems won the award with “Love Me JeJe”, surpassing a competitive field that included Yemi Alade, Asake, Wizkid, Davido, Lojay and Burna Boy.
Despite missing out on trophies this year, Nigerian artistes continued to dominate the nominations, reinforcing the nation’s strong presence and influence on the global music stage.
