Tems Says She Has Surpassed Her Dreams as She Celebrates Record-Breaking Career

|By Queen Banigo

Nigerian global music star, Temilade Openiyi, professionally known as Tems, has revealed that her journey in the music industry has already taken her far beyond the dreams she once set for herself.

The Love Me Jeje singer made the remark during an interactive session with fans on X. Responding to a fan who asked what she was looking forward to and whether she had achieved her pre-fame dreams, Tems said she had exceeded every expectation.

“I’m looking forward to whatever the Lord has in store and honestly I’ve achieved beyond my dreams from when I had a 9-5,” she wrote.

Tems quit her job as a digital marketer in January 2018 to pursue music full-time. She released her debut single, Mr Rebel, later that year, marking her entry into the industry.

Her breakthrough came in 2020 after she featured on Wizkid’s hit single Essence, which later soared to No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 following a remix with Justin Bieber.

Tems cemented her place on the global stage in 2023 when she became the first female Afrobeats artist to win a Grammy, after her collaboration with Future and Drake on Wait For U won Best Melodic Rap Performance at the 65th Grammy Awards.

By 2025, she added another historic milestone—winning the Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance, making her the only Nigerian artist with multiple Grammys. She also earned Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for co-writing Rihanna’s emotional soundtrack, Lift Me Up.