Shallipopi Leads Nigerian Dominance at TikTok Awards Ceremony

Shallipopi

Nigerian Afrobeats star, Crown Uzama, better known as Shallipopi, has been named TikTok's 2025 Artist of the Year.

This information was included in a statement released by TikTok and given to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos.

The TikTok Awards for Sub-Saharan Africa took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, and had the theme: 'New Era, New Icons'.

According to TikTok, Shallipopi's popular song, "Laho", topped the music charts and inspired viral trends all over the continent.

TikTok said the song was a cultural shift that was everywhere on the 'For You Feeds' section and drove viral challenges well beyond Nigeria.

The artist's win was the highlight of a great night for Nigeria at the TikTok Awards Sub-Saharan Africa, where Nigerian creators won six out of the ten awards.

Other Nigerian winners included Brian Nwana (@briannwana) for Storyteller of the Year; Belove Olocha (@beloveolocha) for Entertainment Creator of the Year; and Raja’atu Ibrahim (@diaryofanortherncook) for Creator of the Year.

Also winning were Izzi Boye (@izziboye) for Education Creator of the Year and Degoke Ogunbiyi (@noositiwantiwa_) for Social Impact Creator of the Year.

These were the most awards won by any one country, showing how Nigeria is becoming more influential in digital creativity and African pop culture.

TikTok's Head of Content Operations for Sub-Saharan Africa, Boniswa Sidwaba, commented that Nigeria's huge success at the event proves the strength of the country's creative scene.

“With Nigerian creators securing six of the 10 awards, we are honoured to celebrate their impact, especially as these victories were voted for by the TikTok community, who continue to champion the stories shaping culture,” she said.

Sidwaba added that the wins demonstrated how Nigerian creators—including cooks, entertainers, tech teachers, and social activists—were using short videos to share their local culture with people all over the world.

The platform (TikTok) stated that Nigerian creators were now leading worldwide discussions about African identity through their language, music, food, and stories focused on community.

The creators thanked the organisation for giving them a way to show off Nigeria on the world stage.

“Every single creator is a storyteller. We all tell stories that help drive the local communities, our cities and our countries, and when we do that, we change the perception that the world has about us,” Brian Nwana said.