Two of Nigeria's biggest music exports just picked up a combined three nominations at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, adding another line to their growing list of international recognitions. MTV released its full nominee list this week, and both Burna Boy and Tems feature prominently among the acts up for awards this year.
Burna Boy earned two nods, both tied to "Dai Dai," his collaboration with Colombian singer Shakira. The track is nominated for Best Collaboration and Best Latin, two categories that sit among the night's biggest draws. Tems picked up a separate nomination in the Best R&B category for "Raindance," her joint track with British rapper Dave. That category is stacked, putting her up against Bruno Mars, Chris Brown, Justin Bieber, Kehlani, and the pairing of Mariah the Scientist and Kali Uchis.
What stands out about these nominations is where they landed. Both Burna Boy and Tems are competing in categories that are not specific to African music, a sign that Nigerian artists are increasingly being judged and nominated alongside global pop and R&B acts rather than being boxed into genre-specific slots. That shift has been building for a few years now, as Afrobeats artists have found ways to blend their sound with other global genres and land collaborations with major international names.
This year's nominee list is topped by Madonna, who picked up 11 nominations, her highest total in VMA history. Taylor Swift trails with nine nominations, while Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter each landed seven. Bruno Mars, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson each collected five nominations apiece, rounding out this year's most-nominated acts.
Shakira, who features on Burna Boy's "Dai Dai," ends up with three nominations of her own this year, including a separate nod for "Choka Choka," her duet with Brazilian singer Anitta, in the Best Latin category. Interestingly, Bruno Mars was named the most-nominated artist of Latino heritage this year, pulling in five nominations that span Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, Best R&B and Best Direction.
Fan voting opened alongside the nominee announcement and will run until 6pm Eastern Time on September 25, covering 13 categories in total. Voting for Best New Artist works a little differently, staying open all the way through the live broadcast itself, giving that category one of the longest voting windows of the night.
The ceremony is set for September 27 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, airing on CBS with a simultaneous broadcast on MTV. For Nigerian fans, the night carries extra weight given how much international recognition Afrobeats has picked up over the past few years, from Grammy wins to chart placements on major global platforms.
Both Burna Boy and Tems have spent years building catalogues that pull from multiple genres while staying rooted in Afrobeats, and this year's nominations reflect that approach paying off on one of music's biggest award stages. Whether either artist walks away with a win on September 27 remains to be seen, but simply being nominated in categories that include Bruno Mars, Chris Brown and Justin Bieber says something about how far Nigerian music has travelled on the global stage.
For an industry that has watched Afrobeats grow from a regional sound into a genre with real influence on international charts, moments like this add up. Each VMA nomination, Grammy nod or major festival slot chips away further at the idea that African music belongs in a separate category from the rest of global pop.
Burna Boy and Tems' nominations this year are simply the latest data point in that longer trend, one that shows no real sign of slowing down as more Nigerian artists find collaborators and audiences well beyond the continent.
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