Get Guardian on GoogleSpotify has released Tems Surround Sound, an intimate live performance film that takes audiences through the Nigerian singer’s musical journey, featuring some of her biggest songs, including “Looku Looku”, “Free Mind” and “Love Me JeJe”.
Directed by Tim Horwood, the full-length concert film was shot in Lagos, with Tems performing in the round before an audience of selected fans.
The performance traces the evolution of her catalogue, from early releases such as “Try Me” and “Looku Looku” to later hits, including “Love Me JeJe” and “Me & U”.
At the heart of the production is the enduring connection listeners have maintained with For Broken Ears, Tems’s debut extended play (EP).
According to Spotify’s September 2026 analysis, the project had generated more than 888 million streams across 185 countries, six years after its release. Since 2023, its songs have also introduced nearly 19 million listeners to Tems for the first time on Spotify.
The figures highlight the lasting relationship between the singer and her audience. Of the listeners who streamed For Broken Ears in January 2022, 21.6 per cent returned to the project in August 2026.
The film captures that connection through performances of songs such as “Damages”, “The Key”, “Higher” and “Free Mind”.
Spotify’s Content Marketing Manager for Africa, Rifumo Mdaka, said Tems’s early music continued to serve as an entry point for new listeners while remaining a favourite destination for existing fans.
He said Surround Sound gives that relationship a physical setting by bringing Tems and her fans together in Lagos, while extending the experience to audiences beyond the live venue.
The set also features “Crazy Tings”, “Replay” and “What You Need”, before moving through “Love Me JeJe” and “Me & U” and closing with “Free Mind”.
Together, the selections offer a portrait of an artist whose catalogue continues to expand while her earlier music retains a strong place in listeners’ lives.
The in-the-round setting places the audience around Tems, making the closeness between the singer and her fans a central feature of the film.
Horwood said the production sought to preserve the intimacy and details of the performance while allowing each song to retain its emotional depth.
“With Tems, the voice and the space around it are central to the experience. We wanted the film to stay close to the detail of the performance while allowing each song to breathe.
“Moving through this set, and arriving at ‘Free Mind’, gives us a way to follow the emotional thread connecting different moments in her music,” he said.
Surround Sound is Spotify’s live performance format originating in Sub-Saharan Africa. It brings artists and selected Spotify Premium subscribers together for intimate performances captured as full-length music films.
With Lagos as its starting point, the format seeks to extend the live performance experience to audiences around the world.
