Tems Mixes ‘Born in the Wild’ and ‘Love Me JeJe’ Into Tender Medley on ‘The Tonight Show’

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THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON: Musical guest Tems performs on Monday, May 20, 2024 - Credit: Todd Owyoung/NBC
THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON: Musical guest Tems performs on Monday, May 20, 2024 - Credit: Todd Owyoung/NBC

Tems brought a sunset to late-night during her recent performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The Nigerian singer and songwriter mixed together a medley of her latest single “Love Me JeJe” and the unreleased song “Born in the Wild” from her highly-anticipated debut album Born in the Wild, out June 7.

Performing against the backdrop of a sunset with tall, sprawling blades of grass surrounding the raised platform she was centered on, Tems opened the set with “Born in the Wild.” A seven-piece band and two vocalists backed the singer as she settled into a reflective state, singing: “It’s all over the news, all over the news, I notice/Under the sun, strugglin’ to find my focus/When I was young, younger than my mind, I was always/Runnin’ away/Up in the night, wishin’ somebody knew me/Something inside, pain in my mind, confused/I didn’t know why, didn’t know I could choose.”

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Moments later, the lights illuminating the stage switch from a smoldering warmth to cool purples and blues as Tems descends from her platform. “Love Me JeJe” is a sweeter offering, on which the singer declares: “If not you, then I don’t wanna know, I don’t want no story/Day and night, it’s unconditional, got mе living softly/Love me JeJe, love me tender.”

“Love Me JeJe” is the only official single to have been released from Born in the Wild thus far. Ahead of its arrival in late April, Tems announced the record with a short trailer, which featured a snippet of the album’s title track.

“This is my most special moment. Everything I have I put into this,” Tems shared on social media earlier this month as she unveiled the official title, release date, and artwork for Born in the Wild. “Thank you all so much for believing in me.”

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