Rema plays Ballon d'Or 2023 ceremony

The Ballon d'Or, established by the French news magazine France Football in 1956, annually honours the world’s finest players.

Rema performed his global hit ‘Calm Down’ to an audience filled with the most prominent figures in the sport today. Midway into his performance, the singer, suited up in all black, descended from the stage to exchange handshakes with athletes such as Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jr, Erling Haaland and Bernardo Silva.

‘Calm Down’, co-produced by Andre Vibez and London, was released in February 2022 off Rema’s debut album Rave & Roses. In January this year, the song’s music video set a YouTube record as the most-viewed Afrobeats video on the platform. 

The version featuring Selena Gomez arrived in August last year and recently became the first African artist-led track to cross 1 billion streams on Spotify. 

Following his Paris performance, Rema took to social media to express his excitement about the milestone. “Afrobeat[s] in the Ballon d'Or, I’m truly grateful for the opportunity,” he posted. “Glory to the most high for the grace.”

In 2023, Rema has now graced two major sporting event stages. His first notable appearance took place at the NBA All-Star Game in February, where he shared the spotlight with fellow Afrobeats stars Burna Boy and Tems as Afrobeats becomes an integral part of major sporting events.

In December last year, Davido played at the closing ceremony of the FIFA World Cup Final in Qatar, while Burna Boy performed at the UEFA Champions League Final Kick-Off Show by Pepsi that preceded the competition’s 2023 final at Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, on 10 June.

In an August op-ed discussing the fusion of music and sport as entertainment formats, Spotify’s managing director for sub-Saharan Africa, Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, noted: “By leveraging the connective power of both sport and music, we can not only create a platform for this young talent but also attract much-needed investment into our local sports and music industries which would help us to discover, nurture and develop the artists and athletes of the future.”