The "proper story" behind Rema's global hit is a blend of a real-life club encounter and a deliberate effort to create high-energy music during a somber time. The Real-Life Inspiration
Rema has shared in multiple interviews that the lyrics were inspired by a girl he met at a party in 2021. Rema - Calm Down
: The song was recorded in 2021. Rema noticed many songs at the time were "depressing or sad" due to the pandemic, so he purposefully sought out an uptempo beat to make people dance. The "proper story" behind Rema's global hit is
: The song became the longest-charting African song on the Billboard Hot 100 and the first African artist-led track to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify . Rema noticed many songs at the time were
: He saw a girl who stood out to him, but when he tried to "shoot his shot" and get her number, she was playing hard to get.