CKay leads RIAA list of top selling Nigerian artists | Pulse Nigeria

CKay is the Nigerian with the highest-selling song in the United States.

Nigerian mainstream pop music is enjoying global success, especially in the United States where Afrobeats stars have earned multiple platinum plaques.

In the ranking of the best-selling Nigerian artists in the United States, CKay leads the contingent with over 8 million units sold thanks to his viral hit single ‘Love Nwantiti’ which blew up on TikTok in 2021.

The song is also the most certified Nigerian song in the United States with over 8 million units sold which puts it in a prime position to be Afrobeats’ first diamond record.

Grammy winner Wizkid is second on the list after his top 10 single ‘Essence’ featuring Tems & Justin Bieber sold over 4 million units. Wizkid is also the most certified Nigerian artist in the United States with 8 certifications.

Rema is the third highest-selling Nigerian artist in the US with over 5 million units sold thanks to the success of his mega-hit single ‘Calm Down’ which has been declared 6 times RIAA platinum.

With ‘Calm Down’, Rema set multiple records including becoming an African artist to accumulate over 1 billion streams on a song in the United States.

Other records held by the song include being the highest charting Nigerian song on the Billboard Hot 100 with a NO. 3 peak. It’s the first African song to spend over 52 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as the first to top Billboard’s radio chart.

Other Nigerian artists that have received multiple RIAA certifications include Tems who holds the record for the first Nigerian artist to debut on the Hot 100, Burna Boy who is the Nigerian act with the most Hot 100 entries, and Davido whose single ‘Fall’ is the first Nigerian song to be certified RIAA Gold.