Rema’s “Calm Down” Becomes First Afrobeats Song to Garner a Billion US Streams
Nigerian artist Rema captivates the audience with his energetic performance of “Calm Down.”.
Rema’s hit song “Calm Down” has made Afrobeats history in the US, becoming the first Afrobeats track to earn over one billion on-demand streams, according to Chart Data. This accolade follows the song’s previous recognition as the “most successful African song of all time.” Released in February 2022 as a single from Rema’s debut album “Rave and Roses,” Billboard analysts attribute the song’s success to its “melancholy slow jam with a subtle hypnotic draw”. The track gained further popularity with a remix featuring US singer Selena Gomez, which has amassed nearly 894 million views on YouTube, making it the most watched music video by a Nigerian artist. That version also became the first African song to spend a year on the Billboard Hot 100 and, ranking number three at some point, the highest-charting track with an Afrobeats artist as the lead.
SOURCE: BBC