NIGERIAN musician, Burna Boy, has officially reclaimed his throne on the digital streaming charts, breaking the Spotify record for the highest monthly listeners among African artists, reaching an unprecedented peak of 46.84 million.
With this milestone, the Grammy-winning superstar has narrowly eclipses South African sensation, Tyla, whose previous record sat at 46.58 million monthly listeners.
This streaming surge isn’t accidental; it is fuelled heavily by the global dominance of Dai Dai, Burna Boy’s blockbuster collaboration with Colombian star, Shakira.
Serving as the official anthem for this year’s FIFA World Cup, the track’s energetic opening ceremony performance shot it up through international music charts, capturing the hearts of both home-based Nigerians and the massive Diaspora community worldwide.
While Dai Dai is the current rocket fuel behind his monthly listener peak, Burna Boy’s streaming high boasts of massive solo hits.
Before this World Cup surge, his 2022 Grammy-nominated smash, Last Last, stood as his most-streamed track on Spotify, nearing the 600 million streams mark.
The milestone also serves as a perfect launch pad for his next studio album and the accompanying global “Unity Tour,” slated for later this year.
Benefiting from massive World Cup viewership and heavy radio rotation, Dai Dai has claimed prime real estate on major European charts.
Burna Boy, currently on the charts, leads Oscar-nominated songstress, Tems, who sits at 40.64 million monthly listeners; Ayra Starr, who, alongside Calm Down hit maker, Rema (29.43 million), continues to command massive real estate on global playlists.
On the all-time global metrics, the platform’s peak monthly listener charts continue to be led by pop and R&B figures. Bruno Mars currently holds the highest historical peak on Spotify with 133.6 million monthly listeners, followed closely by Justin Bieber at 128.4 million, and The Weeknd as the third spot globally with 113.9 million listeners, while Rihanna (110.3 million) and Michael Jackson (109.6 million) round out the top five highest historical listener milestones
