Nigerian Artist Temilade Openiyi professionally known as Tems has earned another RIAA platinum plaque, setting a new benchmark in the US music industry, taking her place as the most certified female Artist in the US.
Her song ‘Found,’ featuring Brent Faiyaz, has sold one million copies in the US, qualifying it for the award. ‘Found’ has surpassed 119 million streams on Spotify, making it one of her most listened-to tracks.
The track is part of her second EP, ‘If Orange Was A Place,’ released in 2021. It became a popular song after the artist rose to fame with her exceptional performance on Wizkid’s hit ‘Essence.’
With her latest achievement, she now has three platinum certifications for ‘Wait For U’ in which she featured Future, ‘Found’ and ‘Free Mind’. Tems also achieved RIAA gold certifications for her song ‘Higher’, which made it onto the Billboard Hot 100, and for her EP ‘For Broken Ears’.
This achievement made her the first Nigerian female artist to have an RIAA gold-certified album. She joins Rema and Wizkid as the only Nigerian artists with RIAA-certified projects, including Rema’s ‘Raves & Roses’ and Wizkid’s ‘Made In Lagos,’ which are also RIAA gold-certified.
This significant accomplishment is especially remarkable as it positions her among a select group of African artists with multiple certified projects and achievements, emphasizing her lasting global impact and solidifying her role as a powerful voice in the entertainment and music industry.
Tems rose to prominence after being featured on Wizkid’s 2020 single ‘Essence’, which peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart following the release of the remix version with Justin Bieber. The song earned her a Grammy Award nomination.
Tems released her debut studio album, Born in the Wild to critical acclaim in 2024. The album reached the top thirty in the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, peaking at number 24.
Throughout her career, Tems has received many accolades, including a Grammy Award, a Billboard Women in Music Award, four NAACP Image Awards, three Soul Train Music Awards and four BET Awards.
