Angélique Kidjo Earns 5th Grammy Award Becomes Artist With Most Wins in Global Music Category Ever

Congratulations to Angélique Kidjo on her Grammy award for Best Global Music Album last night for her critically acclaimed release, Mother Nature. Kidjo is now a 5-time winner and 12-time GRAMMY nominee.  The win marks a major milestone for Kidjo - who is now the most awarded African musician of all time, and has the most wins of any artist in the Global Music Category. Her previous album Celia also won Best Global Music Album, in 2020. Her nominations this year included two in the Best Global Music Performance category: “Do Yourself” from Mother Nature, featuring Burna Boy, and a recording of “Blewu” by Yo-Yo Ma featuring Angélique.

A truly remarkable year for Kidjo continued this past week: she performed “If” at the star-studded  MusiCares Person of the Year Benefit concert in Las Vegas on Friday night, in honor of Joni Mitchell. Last Monday, she was featured on CBS Mornings with Anthony Mason, and is also currently featured in Interview Magazine in discussion with her longtime collaborator and friend David Byrne. Kidjo was just featured in the Icons & Influences issue of Rolling Stone, in which she described her admiration for Miriam Makeba and was also featured on TIME's 100 Most Influential People list in 2021 with an intro by Alicia Keys. She is also set to perform at the GRAMMY tribute concert for Paul Simon, “Homeward Bound: A Grammy Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon,” on April 6 at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood, which will be broadcast on CBS later this year.  

Mother Nature was released in June of last year. Met with career-best raves, it tackles major issues like the climate crisis and the struggle for freedom, but in Kidjo’s hands, these themes are translated through music that is radiantly joyful. The album also reinforces her status as a true icon of African music - joined by a host of young African stars that have all been greatly influenced by her, including Burna Boy as well as Mr. Eazi, Yemi Alade and Sampa The Great. The album led to features, performances and interviews with the NY Times, Rolling Stone, Amanpour, NPR All Things Considered, NPR Music, Ebro, Tamron Hall and far beyond.

Upcoming performances:

Thursday, April 7, 2022: Rialto Theater in Tucson, AZ

Saturday, April 9, 2022: Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts in Scottsdale, AZ

Thursday, April 14, 2022: The Broad Stage Theatre in Santa Monica, CA

Friday, April 15, 2022: The Broad Stage Theatre in Santa Monica, CA

Saturday, April 16, 2022: The Broad Stage Theatre in Santa Monica, CA

Saturday, April 23, 2022: Cal Performances Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley, CA

Monday, April 25, 2022: The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, NY

Tuesday, April 26, 2022: The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, NY

Friday, April 29, 2022: Hopkins Center for The Arts in Hanover, NH

Saturday, April 30, 2022: Music Hall in Portsmouth, NH

Saturday, May 6, 2022: The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Sunday, May 7, 2022: The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Tuesday, May 10, 2022: McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, NJ

Thursday, May 12, 2022: Bass Concert Hall in Austin, TX

Thursday, May 26, 2022: Africa Festival in Würzburg, Germany

Wednesday, June 1, 2022: Bergen International Festival in Bergen, Germany

Friday, June 3 - Saturday June 4, 2022: Holland Festival in Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Thursday, June 9, 2022: Dresden Music Festival in Dresden, Germany

Saturday, June 11, 2022: Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris France

Sunday, June 12, 2022: Meltdown Festival at Southbank Centre in London, United Kingdom

Thursday, June 16 - Saturday June 18, 2022: Holland Festival (Yemandja) in Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Wednesday, June 22 - Sunday June 26, 2022: Glastonbury Festival in Glastonbury, England

Friday, July 1, 2022: Jazz a Vienne in Vienne, France

Friday, July 8, 2022: Festival dei due mondi in Spoleto, Italy

Friday, July 22, 2022: Molde Jazz Festival in Molde, Norway

Friday, July 29, 2022: WOMAD UK festival in Malmesbury, United Kingdom

Sunday July 31, 2022: Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, RI

Wednesday August 3, 2022: Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA

Saturday, August 6, 2022: Caramoor in Katonah, NY

Friday, August 19, 2022: H2U Open Air in Uster, Switzerland

Sunday, October 23, 2022: Palladium Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, IN

Saturday, January 28, 2023: Chateau Rogue in Annemasse, France

Thursday, March 30, 2023: Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, The Netherlands