• International Afrobeat superstar Rema made history as he became the first Nigerian to perform at the Ballon d'Or
• It was a proud moment for fellow countrymen who thronged social media to praise the young singer
• However, something Rema did at the award ceremony caught the attention of many football fans

Nigerian Afrobeat superstar Divine Ikubor, aka Rema, recently took his global relevance to an entirely new level as he performed his hit song "Calm Down" at the 2023 Ballon d'Or ceremony.

The Afrobeat star made history as he became the first Nigerian to perform at the global award event.

Rema refuses to shake Lionel Messi

Amidst the fantastic achievement, something at the 2023 Ballon d'Or has caught the attention of many.

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The singer, during the show, was seen sharing a handshake with several football stars, including Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jr, Erling Haaland, and Bernardo Silva, but conspicuously missed the 8th Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi before returning to the stage to finish his performance.

Rema's performance at the Ballon d'Or is coming after several other international wins for many other Nigerian singers.

Recall also that earlier in 2023, Tiwa Savage performed at King Charles' Inauguration. Davido performed at the World Cup final. Burna Boy delivered a pulsating show at the UEFA Champions League final.

Watch Rema's full performance below:

See the moment Rema did not shake Messi:

Reactions trail Rema's performance

Here are some of the comments that trailed Rema's performance at the Ballon d'Or:

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@gossipmillnaija:

"Rema you are officially the number 1 artiste in Africa!!! Periodt!!! No one comes close!!! First African artiste to Perform at the Avalon D’or!!! Grammy Loading!!!"

@mrmacaroni1:

"Proud Moment For us all."

@funnybroscomedy:

"GLOBAL."

@josephmazino:

"Speed was vibing hard."

@mavinrecords:

"Global Ambassador!"

@crayonthis:

"Big W for our country! Big W for Africa! Big W for Afrobeat!! Big W for us all ."

@didi_couture1:

"The hand shakes were necessary."

@sheyebanks:

"Global superstar. God is kind."

Rema’s new music video stirs satanic conversations

Legit.ng recalls reporting when some netizens accused Rema of being a satanic worshipper.

The allegations recently intensified after some snippets of his new EP, Ravage, went viral.

However, Rema has come out to shut down the allegations, noting that his choice of using creativity is closely related to his origin.

Source: Legit.ng

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