Angelique Kidjo, the iconic Beninese-French singer-songwriter, has submitted her track ‘Joy’ featuring Afrobeats star Davido for consideration in two categories at the 2025 Grammy Awards.

The much-anticipated 67th Grammy Awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on February 2, 2025, in Los Angeles.

Ahead of the award ceremony, several global artistes have begun to submit their projects for nomination consideration.

In a recent Facebook post, the 64-year-old megastar announced that she submitted the song in the ‘Best African Music Performance’ and ‘Record of the Year’ categories.

Kidjo entered another of her works ‘Sunlight to My Soul’ in the ‘Best Global Music Performance’ and ‘Song of the Year’ categories.

The songstress also appreciated the artistes involved for their contributions and collaborators.

In August, the Beninese singer released ‘Joy’ featuring Davido. The track follows the success of their first collaborative song ‘Na Money‘ in 2023.

Kidjo is known for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos. She has won five Grammy Awards and is also the 2023 Polar Music Prize laureate.

She is regarded as one of the greatest singers in Africa. Aside from her incredible music career, Kidjo is an actress and activist.

Davido, on the other hand, has firmly established himself as one of the prominent artistes out of Africa. He has also won several awards.

The singer was nominated in three categories at the 2023 Grammy Awards. He, however, failed to win all of his nominations.

Cissy Houston, the two-time Grammy-winning soul and gospel artiste and mother of Whitney Houston, has died.

The 91-year-old singer died on Monday morning in her New Jersey home while under hospice care for Alzheimer’s disease.

Pat Houston, her daughter-in-law, in a statement, described Cissy as a “strong and towering figure” in the family’s life.

“Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness. We lost the matriarch of our family,” the statement reads.

“Mother Cissy has been a strong and towering figure in our lives. A woman of deep faith and conviction, who cared greatly about family, ministry, and community. Her more than seven-decade career in music and entertainment will remain at the forefront of our hearts.

“Her contributions to popular music and culture are unparalleled.”

Cissy was born in New Jersey in 1933 as the youngest of eight children. Born Emily Drinkard, she began singing at a young age after she formed a gospel group with her siblings.

She started to gain popularity in the 1960s as a member of the backing group The Sweet Inspirations with Doris Troy and her niece Dee Dee Warwick.

They sang backup for soul legends including Otis Redding, Lou Rawls and the Drifters, and Dusty Springfield.

Cissy left the group to pursue a solo career, which made her one of the world’s most in-demand session singers of that era.

She recorded more than 600 songs and her vocals can be heard on tracks by Chaka Khan, Luther Vandross, Beyoncé and Paul Simon.

In 1997, Cissy won a Grammy Award for her traditional soul gospel album ‘Face to Face’. She secured another Grammy Award in 1998 for her album ‘He Leadeth Me’.

She lost her daughter Whitney in 2012. Whitney died at the age of 48 after years of battling addiction and a notoriously troubled marriage.

Cissy and Whitney were famously close. Their relationship was also one of mentor and protégé. She also recorded a duet with Whitney titled ‘I Know Him So Well’ in 1987.

Ibrahim ‘Primeboy’ Owodunni, the childhood friend of Mohbad, has issued a counterstatement over allegations made by Abosede Aloba, the mother of the late singer, concerning their relationship before his death.

In a statement signed by Akinpelu Ogunbona, his lawyer, Primeboy said Mohbad’s mother “granted an interview where she accused me of having an altercation with her son while he was alive”.

“In the said interview, you alleged that our client always fought the late Mohbad and consistently complained about his neglect by the late Mohbad since the said late Mohbad rose to stardom,” the statement reads in part.

“You also alleged that our client was advised to run away after the death of the late Mohbad so as not to be suspected regarding the death.”

Primeboy described the allegations as “defamatory and intentional,” adding that they have harmed his reputation and affected the affection he receives from fans.

“Your actions are deliberate to injure and traduce the integrity of our client who is a rising star in the music industry and your allegations in the interview have greatly and negatively impacted the affection and love being enjoyed by our client from his fans and well-wishers around the world,” he added.

In the letter shared via Instagram, Primeboy requested that Mohbad’s mother retract her statements within seven days. He also threatened to take legal action if she failed to do so.