The global Afrobeats phenomenon has a new royal member. Ayra Starr, the Afropop sensation, has officially cemented her place among the genre’s absolute elite by surpassing a monumental 3 billion streams across all credits on the music streaming platform Spotify. This achievement propels her into one of the most exclusive clubs in African music, marking a career-defining moment.
The significance of this milestone is underscored by the company she now keeps. The list of Nigerian artists who have cleared the 3-billion stream mark is a veritable hall of fame, led by the unparalleled Wizkid, who stands as the most-streamed African artist on the platform with a staggering 9 billion streams, a testament to his decade-long dominance. He is closely followed by the Grammy-winning global force Burna Boy, whose profound and politically charged albums like African Giant and Love, Damini have amassed over 8.5 billion streams.
The new generation is powerfully represented by Rema, whose Calm Down became a historic global smash, making him one of the fastest-rising artists ever to cross the 3-billion threshold. Alongside him is the groundbreaking Tems, who leveraged her soulful, ethereal vocals on world-conquering collaborations with the likes of Drake and Future to become the first female Nigerian artist to enter this prestigious group. Rounding out the list is Davido, a foundational figure in modern Afrobeats and a long-standing streaming powerhouse whose extensive catalog of hits guarantees his position.
For Ayra Starr, whose career was launched only a few years ago with her self-titled EP, this inclusion is particularly remarkable. To achieve a streaming footprint of this scale while being the youngest and most recent major debutant in the group speaks to her immense and rapid global connection. Hits like the viral Rush and her acclaimed album 19 & Dangerous have demonstrated a unique ability to capture the zeitgeist, solidifying her not just as a star, but as a defining voice for the new era of Afrobeats. Her achievement signals both the genre’s booming international appeal and the arrival of a formidable talent who is only just getting started.
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