Nigerian singer Rema soared to the world stage with his second single in his career titled “Calm Down.” The song picked up pace slowly but reached a zenith of popularity with the release of its remix version with Selena Gomez.
“Calm Down” was released as the second single from Rema’s debut studio album ‘Rave & Roses’ on February 11, 2022. The song peaked at #1 in several countries such as Belgium, Netherlands, Romania, and Switzerland, and cracked the top 10 in many other countries music charts. The remix with Selena Gomez had bigger success with the song reaching #10 on UK Billboard Chart and #74 on US Billboard Hot 100 Chart.
In an interview with Pitchfork magazine, Rema explained the real-life inspiration behind the song; “‘Calm Down’ is about the events that led me to finding love at the time. It started at a party where I saw a girl who stood out from other girls so I felt like shooting my shot. We spoke and danced… but her friends didn’t let me get any closer which killed the vibe, but afterwards when they weren’t there, we stayed in touch and hit it off.”
Listen to “Calm Down” by Rema
Rema “Calm Down” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review
The song speaks about the singer’s infatuation with a girl he met at a party. The singer immediately knows that he wants something more than a dance tonight so he takes his shot at the girl. Throughout the song, Rema describes how good this girl looks.
This girl was wearing yellow and this immediately stood her out from the crowd. Rema is lured in by her looks–luscious lips, brown skin looking golden, and her curvy body. As gorgeous as she is, she is also insecure. So, when Rema approaches her, she crawls into her shell. Her friends are of no help either. They are very protective of her and do not want her to make a mistake.
Slowly but surely, Rema breaks the code and gets close to her. One night turns into two and they are hitting it off. Rema says he is in love and he has all the symptoms to show for it. He is out of focus when he is with this girl, his heart starts to race, and he feels like he will not love again if this girl was to leave him.
Listen to “Calm Down (Remix)” by Rema with Selena Gomez
Watch a massive crowd sing “Calm Down” verbatim at the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
You know you’ve made it when a whole stadium of sports fans sing your song’s every word.
Let us know what you think about this song in the comments below. Check out the complete lyrics on Genius.