By Ayodele Johnson

At the Théâtre du Châtelet, a theatre and opera house located in Paris in Northern Central France, there could only be one 2023 Ballon d’Or winner in the male category and that was Argentina’s Lionel Messi. But before the Argentine got his hands on his trophy, the Nigerian Afrobeats singer Rema needed to first set the mood for relaxation with a performance of ‘Calm Down’, a track he released in February 2022 and has helped him to find much success.

How else can success in a song be measured for Rema if not for a mind-blowing remix and collaboration with the American pop musician Selena Gomez, then taking all that build-up to the singing platform of the Ballon d’Or stage with the audience taking the form of football players that are signed to some of the biggest Europe’s elite teams?

The television camera was able to catch some of them. Like Erling Haaland of Manchester City in England, Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germaine in France and Vinicius Junior, the Brazilian international who plays for Real Madrid; they were all trying to shrug off giggling smiles as Rema relocated his performance from the stage closer to the footballers sitting in the front row and offering a bunch of them a handshake that they apparently enjoyed.

Knowing what he did – how much he was able to bring enjoyment to his attentive listeners, Rema took to his Instagram to share a clip of the moment. It was a great performance, so why not. He was a total sparkle rocking majorly black and signing off his rendition with a huge smile.

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Rema’s post on his IG rolled out as an emotion of feeling “truly grateful for the opportunity” he had been given to perform and also directing “[glory] to the most high for the grace.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by REMA (@heisrema)

The admiration coming from the theatre audience to Rema is a deserved one being that it is a milestone that has just been checked.

Initially, it was other Nigerian contemporaries such as twin dad Davido pulling up with the mic at the closing ceremony of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in December 2022, and then Burna Boy headlining the 2023 UEFA Champions League Final Kick-Off Show by Pepsi®, that had experienced a footballing crowd.

Now, with the 2023 Ballon d’Or performance in the bag, Rema has sort of carved out his own niche. That is, the notable gig in the sporting world that he will be known for in the years to come.

Ayodele Johnson

Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.