Today April 2, 2023, marks one year since Billboard launched the U.S. Afrobeats chart in collaboration with the concert festival brand Afro-Nation. The biggest winner on U.S. music’s newest chart is Rema and Selena Gomez’s chart creeper “Calm Down,” which has so far dominated 57% or 30 of the U.S. Afrobeats chart’s first 53 weeks.
According to Billboard who tracks the 50 most consumed Afro-fusion songs in the U.S. with data from Luminate (formerly MRC Data) there were 217 songs to have appeared on the U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart since its inception but just 13 have been on the chart for a full year. Six of those songs became chart toppers, all of which were led by Nigerian superstars.
Tems was the only act with two separate chart toppers including one solo.
“Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah),” by CKay, was the first to peak beginning April 2, 2022 and revisited the top for six nonconsecutive weeks. “Peru,” by Fireboy DML & Ed Sheeran also peaked for six weeks, beginning April 9, 2022. The double platinum hit “Essence,” by WizKid featuring Justin Bieber & Tems spent two at the to first on July 2, 2022. Burna Boy’s summer smash “Last Last,” spent eight weeks at No. 1 starting July 16, 2022.
“Free Mind,” Tems spent a week on June 25, 2022 and “Calm Down,” by Rema & Selena Gomez has so far spent 30 weeks on the chart beginning Sept. 10, 2022. The song was this week’s No. 1 and is the 8th most consumed song in the U.S. this week on the Billboard Hot 100. Calm Down’s global impact is also being felt in home territory on the Middle East & North African Chart (MENA) where it has 3 non consecutive weeks at No. 1 (12wks total).
The diversity of the charts and new Afrobeats songs to find success in the U.S. is in contrast to the Billboard Reggae albums chart where Legend: The Best Of Bob Marley & The Wailers has been at the top for 52 of the 53 weeks last year. The Marley compilation classic first released in 1984, only made way one week (September 23, 2022) for California Reggae group Stick Figure‘s 7th studio album “Wisdom” [Ruffwood Records].
Overall the Nigerians dominated the chart as Burna Boy hit the top 50 with 28 singles, the most for any artist over the year. Diamond selling artist Wizkid had 22 joints Def Jam’s newest recruit Asake claimed 16 U.S. Afrobeats hits. Six acts scored double-digit entries according to Billboard.
Burna Boy, 28
Wizkid, 22
Asake, 16
Rema, 14
Zinoleesky, 13
BNXN, 12
Tems, 12
Burna had the most top 10 hits on U.S. Afrobeats hits, 8 in total according to Billboard
“Last Last,” (No. 1 for eight weeks), “For My Hand,” featuring Ed Sheeran (No. 2), “Solid,” featuring Kehlani and Blxst (No. 8), “It’s Plenty” (No. 8), “Cloak and Dagger,” featuring J Hus (No. 10) and “Alone” (No. 2). The remaining pair are through guest spots, on Asake’s “Sunbga” (No. 7), and Master KG’s “Jerusalema” (No. 10).
-via Billboard
As Ghanaian singer Stoneybwoy gets ready to release his upcoming studio album 5th Dimension on Def Jam with promotion in the U.S. he said Americans love Afrobeats because within it are the original ingredients of dancehall, reggae, hip hop and R&B.
“If Afrobeats does get the forefront like it’s getting, interestingly it has all the other genres embedded inside of it,” he told Charlamage The God of the Breakfast Club on New York’s Power 105.1 fm.
“When you break down any typical Afrobeats song you can put every other music of black origin on there. You can find dancehall in there, that’s how everybody is gravitating to it, I believe so because everybody can find themselves in there knowingly or unknowingly. It has several branches and big tree,” he said.
