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Celebrating Nigerian superstar Davido at 32.
The singer, who turns 32 years old today (November 21), has held sway for over a decade as one of Africa’s biggest musicians who has contributed massively to Afrobeats’ global exportation.
As the superstar clocks in at 32 years old, it offers an opportunity to revisit some of his noteworthy accomplishments throughout his illustrious career:
The first Afrobeats artist to feature on the FIFA World Cup official theme song
Singer Davido is the first Afrobeats musician to ever appear on the FIFA World Cup theme song in 2022. RedOne’s production, ‘Hayya Hayya’ (Better Together), served as the official music for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and featured vocal contributions by Trinidad Cardona, Davido, and Aisha.
Clothing deal with PUMA
The artist revealed a brand-new clothing partnership with the German multinational company PUMA for 2022. Being the brand ambassador for the international company, the Afrobeats star walked the runway during New York Fashion Week and has continued the trend with the new Africanized line.
Getting featured in international movies
Davido’s accomplishments extend beyond music and into film, as his songs have broken down industry barriers. His songs have been featured in international movies like ‘Queen of Katwe’ (2016) and ‘Coming to America II’ (2020), in which he also made a cameo and performed the song ‘Assurance.’
The first African artist to receive an award on the main stage of the BET Awards
Davido won Best International Act at the 2018 BET Awards, becoming the first African artist to receive his award on the main stage. He went viral for his acceptance speech, where he urged patrons and American artists to visit Africa and eat African food.
Made Forbes and TIME’s lists
Davido was included on the Forbes Africa list of under-30s who are making waves in their fields throughout the continent in 2018. He was ranked first on Forbes’ list of African icons in 2021. Throughout his career, he has also been featured in numerous foreign publications, and TIME Magazine added him to its Influential 100 Next List for 2021.
The first African to perform at the MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin)
On November 30, 2017, Davido became the first African artist to perform live at the MOBO Awards. He would go on to win the award for ‘Best African Act’ beating Maleek Berry, Tekno, Mr. Eazi, Tiwa Savage, Wande Coal, and Wizkid to the award.
The first young artist to sell out the 02 Arena
In January 2019, 26-year-old Davido became the youngest African artist to sell out the world’s busiest music arena, the 20,000-capacity O2 Arena. The much-anticipated concert was exactly as he had envisioned it, if not better: Davido not only sold out the O2 Arena, but he also left his imprint on the historic British venue.
BONUS: His other notable achievements:
- Davido’s music video for ‘Blow My Mind‘ with American singer Chris Brown became the first music video out of Nigeria to reach two million YouTube views in just 24 hours.
- In December 2018, his ‘Fall’ surpassed 100 million views, becoming the first to do so and also currently the most-viewed video by a Nigerian artist on YouTube.
- He became the first African artist to get a gold certification in the US as well as Canada in 2020 with his hit single ‘Fall.’
- With over 40 awards, Davido is one of the most awarded African artists.
