Nigerian singer, CKay, has made the Number 1 spot on the new Billboard US Afrobeats Songs chart which was created just last week.
CKay occupies the Number 1 spot on the chart with his global hit ‘Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah)’. Originally released in 2019, the track has been a TikTok staple since its release. It drew 4.7 million streams in the US during a March 18-24, 2022 tracking week, according to data and analytics company, Luminate.
CKay’s ‘Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah)’ is followed by fellow Nigerian, Fireboy DML’s Ed Sheeran-assisted ‘Peru’, Wizkid’s ‘Essence’ featuring Tems, Omah Lay’s ‘Attention’ featuring Justin Bieber, and Tems’ ‘Free Mind’, which make up the top five on the chart.
Like the top five, the rest of the list is occupied almost entirely by Nigerians, backing their repute as the collective face of the genre, which also enjoys prominence in other West African countries such as Ghana. Tems’ name appears eight times on the chart, while Wizkid and Burna Boy follows with six and five inclusions respectively.
US-based Ghanaian music producer, Nektunez’s amapiano remix of E.R.A’s ‘Ameno’ featuring Nigeria’s Goya Menor, holds the Number 7 spot, while Ghana’s Kelvyn Boy made his debut at Number 20 with ‘Down Flat’.
Billboard US launches Afrobeats Chart
The Afrobeats chart was launched through a partnership between Afrobeats festival brand, Afro Nation, and music and entertainment magazine, Billboard. Afro Nation was also responsible for initiating the weekly Official Afrobeats Chart on BBC Radio 1Xtra in 2020.
The Billboard US Afrobeats Songs chart, which was fuelled by the genre’s growing global demand, ranks the top 50 Afrobeats songs in the US, based on official streaming data from leading audio and video music services, as well as downloaded sales from top music retailers. The chart aggregates data from both subscription and ad-supported tiers on digital service providers, according to Billboard.
Announcing the chart last week, Billboard Senior Vice-President of charts and development, Silvio Pietroluongo said: “As with much of the world, Afrobeats has grown tremendously as a genre in America and we are proud to showcase the top songs and artists with this new weekly ranking“.
Afro Nation founder, Obi Asika, speaking on the achievement said: “there is still so much more potential within the scene and the community that has grown around it and I believe it is vital that with Billboard we now have a US chart that reflects this growth and provides a platform for emerging artists from every continent to showcase their talent to new audiences”.
“I am humbled to have made a contribution to growing the genre alongside many talented, passionate people,” Obi Asika told Billboard.
The last decade has seen Afrobeats explode into a worldwide phenomenon. Afrobeats sounds and influences have grown in the U.S. market since 2010 through artists such as Beyoncé and Drake. Now, the genre has yielded some of the biggest success stories within a decade.
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