Tems Is No Longer OK Coming To Kenya- Organisers

Organisers of a concert that was to be held in Kenya featuring Nigeria musician Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, have revealed why she decided to cancel it unexpectedly.

The Damages hitmaker had announced on social media on Thursday, October 6 that she was pulling out of the Tukutane Festival that was slated for Saturday, October 15 at the Jamuhuri Sports Grounds.

"Hey, Kenya. Honestly, it’s quite heartbreaking to say this but I will not be able to perform at the Tukutane Festival due to circumstances beyond my control. 

Singer Tems posing for a photo. /INSTAGRAM.TEMSBABY

"I am as disappointed as you all are but I look forward to coming and giving you a show that you deserve. Love you all," she wrote.

The organisers however poked holes at her decision, revealing that they fully paid for the Nigerian star three days before the announcement and 15 days before the show itself.

However, they were shocked upon being informed that her manager disclosed that she decided to cancel the highly-anticipated concert as she was not feeling at ease flying into Kenyan territory.

"As at three days ago, all was going according to schedule and plan. We paid for Tems in full 15 days before the performance date and to our surprise as soon as the payment was made, her manager mentioned that she is no longer comfortable coming to Kenya and just does not want to perform for her Kenya fans.

"We were shook, heartbroken and financially wounded," they stated.

The organisers nonetheless announced that those who had bought tickets would be fully refunded and apologised for the inconvenience as they work on rescheduling the festival to a future date to be announced. Tickets were going for Ksh2,000 before the cancellation.

Tems had got her Kenyan fans excited on Sunday, July 31 when she teased that she would visit Nairobi, Kenya, but did not exactly reveal what date she would visit the country.

She is a Nigerian singer and songwriter born in Lagos on July 11, 1995. She grew up singing in her church choir in 2009 and rose to become one of the young famous singers in Nigeria.

After her primary education which she did in Lagos, she attended Dowen College in Lekki and later moved to Johannesburg, South Africa to study Economics at a South African university. 

She enjoyed listening to Solider by Destinys child ft Lil Wayne. Her favourite artist was Beyoncé and she always dreamt of becoming a music icon.

The alternative singer’s journey into the music industry began when she was 20 when she released her first Extended Play (EP) project, Time Swap EP in 2013.

Her first recognized single, Mr Rebel, a song that got more than 200,000 views on YouTube came after her album Illumination in 2018. She followed it up with another single, Looku Looku a song that was widely accepted and Nigerian radio stations gave it enough air-plays.

She measured up with another hit single, Try Me, and solidified her name in the hall of fame. It was released in August 2019 and gained more than 2 million views on YouTube alone.

Singer Tems during a concert in London, United Kingdom. /INSTAGRAM.TEMSBABY

In 2019, Tems was nominated for the Best Vocal Performance (Female) and Best Alternative Song for her single Mr. Rebel, during the Headies award.

In 2020, she collaborated with DJ Khaled on a single titled Know Your Worth. The uplifting music, which also featured Nigerian superstar, Davido, and Disclosure, made it to former US President Barack Obama’s playlist for the summer of 2020.