Grammy-winning Nigerian singer, Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, has opened up about how being an artist changed her.

The 31-year-old explained that before she became a professional musician, she was “hyper-independent” and tended to push people away, but making music has taught her to be open and vulnerable without feeling odd.

Speaking in a recent interview with Doose Of Society, Tems said, ”

Tems: “Being an artist has changed my life. There are a lot of people who know me. It made me grow, I had to shed a lot of habits that were holding me back—one of those things was my hyper-independency and the thing I do where I push people away.”

She added, ‘I have now learned to embrace love and just be open, and be free to give love and be vulnerable without feeling odd.”

Tems launched her music career in 2018 with her debut single, ‘Mr Rabel’, after quitting her job.

However, her breakthrough came after she enchanted the Western music audience with her 2020 collaborative hit with Wizkid, ‘Essence.’

Since then, she has collaborated with Drake, Beyoncé, Justin Bieber, and J. Cole and has also won two Grammys.

She recently set a record as the first Nigerian artist to hit over 40 million monthly streams on Spotify.