SZA Set To Perform at the 2024 Grammy Awards

SZA set to perform at the 2024 Grammy Awards, Ayra Starr’s ‘Rush’ breaks YouTube record, Senegal crashes out of AFCON. Stay in the know with our Rave News Digest, which summarizes five of the hottest global news stories you need to catch up on, saving you time and energy. Consider it your daily news fix.

1. SZA set to perform at the 2024 Grammy Awards

SZA to Perform on 2024 Grammy Awardshttps://t.co/vQhg8Pw5qC

— billboard (@billboard) January 29, 2024

SZA, who leads all artists with nine Grammy nominations, has been tapped to perform at the awards show. Along with SZA, other performers include Travis Scott, Burna Boy, Billy Joel, Dua Lipa, Olivia Rodrigo, Luke Combs, and U2 (from the Sphere in Las Vegas in a remote appearance).

This will be SZA’s second performance at the awards show and her first performance in six years since she graced the stages as a Best New Artist nominee for “Ctrl” in 2018. The Grammy Awards will air live from L.A.’s Crypto.com Arena on February 4.

2. Ayra Starr’s Rush breaks YouTube record

Ayra Starr’s “Rush” is the first solo song by a female Nigerian artiste to exceed 300 million views on YouTube 📈 pic.twitter.com/Kv6bkhwZ7H

— Unorthodox Reviews (@OfficialBlog_UR) January 29, 2024

Ayra Starr’s “Rush” has exceeded 300 million views on YouTube, setting a new record as it becomes the first solo song by a female Nigerian artist to exceed 300 million views on the streaming platform. Released in 2022, “Rush” quickly garnered commercial success on a global scale. Domestically, it claimed the top spot on the TurnTable Top 100 in Nigeria. Rush debuted at number four on the Billboard US Afrobeat Song Chart.

Internationally, the track made its mark in various countries, including Canada, Lebanon, Belgium, the Netherlands, South Africa, and France, where it reached its peak at number 5. Notably, it also secured a place on the UK Singles Chart, marking Ayra Starr as the first Nigerian female artist to achieve this milestone.

3. South Africa: DJ Zinhle thanks Nadia Nakai for helping her deal with AKA’s death

Late South African rapper, AKA also known as Super Mega, left behind his girlfriend, Nadia Nakai. Most importantly, he left behind his 8-year-old daughter, whom he had with DJ Zinhle in 2015. DJ Zinhle, the brain behind the South African hit “Umlilo,” took to Instagram to share how hard the rapper’s death had been for his daughter, Kairo. The DJ revealed that her journey with Kairo has been a very tough situation, stating, “I feel helpless cause I can’t help my child deal with the pain.”

Zinhle shared that Kairo Forbes had a very hard time leading up to AKA’s birthday on January 28, 2024. In her message, she was thankful to her lover, Bongani Mohosana, for his support in caring for the 8-year-old. Surprisingly, she also sent out a message of gratitude to AKA’s girlfriend at the time of his death, Nadia Nakai, for “sharing the load” with her. She said, “Imagine if I was dealing with a child who lost her dad alone but instead we have each other, my family.., the Forbes, @nadianakai & all my friends, thank you for sharing the load with Bongani and I.”

4. Davido earns his first Billboard Hot 100 entry

.@chrisbrown‘s “Sensational” featuring @davido & @Lojaymusic debuts at No. 96 on this week’s #Hot100.

It earns Davido and Lojay their first career entries on the chart.

— billboard charts (@billboardcharts) January 29, 2024

Chris Brown’s track “Sensational,” featuring Davido and Lojay, has earned its first Billboard Hot 100 entry. The Billboard Hot 100, a weekly publication by Billboard magazine, serves as the industry standard record chart for songs in the United States. Rankings on the chart are determined by factors such as sales, online streaming, and radio play within the U.S.

Davido and Lojay make their first appearances on the Billboard Hot 100, thanks to their featured credits on “Sensational.” The Nigerian artists have joined the shortlist of Afrobeats songs that have made it to the Hot 100 charts. Burna Boy and Tems each boast five entries, Wizkid has four, while Rema, Fireboy DML, and Ckay have secured one entry each.

5. Senegal crash out of AFCON

Ivory Coast eliminate reigning AFCON champions Senegal on penalties 😱

They snuck into the knockouts on the final day of group play as the fourth-best third place team.

They equalized in the 86th minute to keep their hopes alive.

Wow. pic.twitter.com/rNKZi1ppRY

— B/R Football (@brfootball) January 29, 2024

The Teranga Lions of Senegal have crashed out of the African Cup of Nations after losing 5-4 on penalties to the hosts, Ivory Coast. Regulation time and extra time ended 1-1, but Moussa Niakhate crashed his kick against the post as the Ivorians, who got to this stage as one of the third-best teams in the group stage, won in dramatic fashion.

Senegal’s Habib Diallo scored after four minutes, but Ivorian substitute Franck Kessie equalized off a penalty four minutes from the end of regular time in Yamoussoukro. The former Barcelona midfielder, Kessie, was the shootout hero again, converting the decisive kick to send the Elephants to the quarterfinals.

Featured Image: @abdmstudio via @sza/Instagram

Our Weekday News Digest summarizes five of the hottest news topics worldwide–including celebrity news from Hollywood to Nollywood, the latest trending global headlines from American reports to top African news today, and the best sports stories in 2024.

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