Nigeria’s biggest music stars, Tems, Wizkid, Burna Boy and Asake, failed to secure any wins at the 2026 BET Awards, held on Sunday at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles.
Hosted by Druski, the annual awards celebrated excellence across music, film, television and sports, with Teyana Taylor and Clipse emerging among the night’s biggest winners.
Tems entered the ceremony as Nigeria’s strongest contender with three nominations. She was shortlisted for Best Female R&B/Pop Artist, the BET Her Award for her song First, and the Viewers’ Choice Award for Raindance, her collaboration with British rapper Dave.
Despite the impressive nominations, the Grammy-winning singer was unsuccessful in all three categories. Kehlani won Best Female R&B/Pop Artist, while Doechii and SZA claimed the BET Her Award for Girl, Get Up. The Viewers’ Choice Award went to Mariah the Scientist for Burning Blue.
Although she left without an award, Tems thrilled the audience with a live performance of her 2025 hit single, What You Need.
Wizkid and Asake were jointly nominated in the Best Group category but lost to Clipse, who also won Album of the Year for Let God Sort Em Out and Best Collaboration for Chains & Whips featuring Kendrick Lamar.
Burna Boy was also unable to clinch a trophy, missing out in the Best Collaboration category for his feature on Gunna’s WGFT.
Elsewhere, South African music star Tyla also went home empty-handed after losing in both the Video of the Year and Viewers’ Choice Award categories.
The 2026 BET Awards also proved disappointing for several nominees of Nigerian and broader African heritage in the film and television categories, as none secured a win.
