Grammy Award-winning Nigerian artist Ayodeji Balogun, known professionally as Wizkid, has achieved a major global milestone by becoming the first African artist to amass 20 billion on-demand audio streams worldwide.
This historic feat was confirmed by Chart Masters, an international music data platform, which tracks the cumulative streaming numbers from Wizkid’s solo work and collaborations across various platforms.
According to Chart Masters, Wizkid’s most streamed track remains the global hit “One Dance” by Canadian rapper Drake, which features Wizkid and British singer Kyla. The song has surpassed 3.628 billion streams on Spotify alone.
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“One Dance” also holds a Guinness World Record as the first song to cross one billion streams on Spotify, further cementing Wizkid’s influence in the global music industry.
Wizkid recently made headlines for becoming the first African artist to receive the Brit Billion Award.
The honour is awarded to musicians whose songs have collectively garnered over one billion on-demand streams in the United Kingdom.
Reacting to the achievement, music analyst Emmanuel Uche said, “This sets a new benchmark for African artists in the global streaming era. Wizkid is leading the charge in bridging Afrobeats with mainstream pop culture.”
Wizkid’s discography includes several chart-topping hits and international collaborations with artists such as Beyoncé, Justin Bieber, and Chris Brown.
He is widely regarded as a pioneer in the globalisation of Afrobeats.
With over 65 million certified units sold globally, Wizkid is currently the best-selling Afrobeats artist of all time, a title earned through consistent international success since his debut.
A representative from Wizkid’s label, Starboy Entertainment, stated, “This achievement is not just for Wizkid but for every African artist striving to break global barriers.”
Industry experts expect Wizkid’s record-breaking accomplishment to further elevate the global profile of African music, opening more opportunities for artists from the continent on international platforms.
