Nigerian singer CKay is leading the Billboard US Afrobeats Songs chart, which debuted on 29 March, with his global hit ‘Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah)’.
Originally published in 2019, the song has been a TikTok favorite since its resurgence last year. According to data and analytics firm Luminate, it garnered 4.7 million streams in the United States during the 18-24 March monitoring week.
CKay’s ‘Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah)’ is followed by Ed Sheeran-assisted ‘Peru’ by fellow Nigerian Fireboy DML, Wizkid’s ‘Essence’ featuring Tems, Omah Lay’s ‘Attention’ featuring Justin Bieber, and Tems’ ‘Free Mind,’ which round out the top five on the chart.
The Nigerian-dominated list bolsters their reputation as the collective face of the genre, which is also popular in other West African nations such as Ghana. Tems’ name shows eight times on the chart, while Wizkid and Burna Boy come in second and third with six and five appearances, respectively.
US-based Ghanaian music producer Nektunez’s amapiano remix of E.R.A’s ‘Ameno’ featuring Nigeria’s Goya Menor holds the No 7 spot, while Ghana’s Kelvyn Boy made his debut at No 20 with ‘Down Flat’.
The list was created in collaboration with Afrobeats festival brand Afro Nation and music and entertainment magazine Billboard. In addition, Afro Nation was responsible for launching the weekly Official Afrobeats Chart on BBC Radio 1Xtra in 2020.
The Billboard US Afrobeats Songs chart counts the top 50 Afrobeats songs in the US based on official streaming statistics from key audio and video music services, as well as download sales from prominent music stores.
