Nigerian superstar Rema continues to lead the global exportation of Nigerian music with his hit records and sold-out concerts. His latest milestone is achieved with his sophomore album ‘HEIS,’ which garnered 12.3 million streams in its opening week on Spotify Nigeria, breaking the record for the biggest opening week streams on the platform.
This surpasses Olamide’s ‘Ikigai,’ which had 7.92 million streams in its opening week.Released on July 10, 2024, ‘HEIS’ has become the second album with the domestically most opening week streams on Spotify Nigeria, only behind Davido’s ‘Timeless,’ which amassed 14.4 million streams.
Prior to the album release, Rema set a new record for most first-day streams on Spotify Nigeria with his single ‘Benin Boys,’ featuring Shallipopi.
Rema’s ‘HEIS’ also broke the record for opening day streams and recorded an impressive 1.99 million second-day streams.
This success highlights Rema’s status as a global superstar, as he previously made history with Afrobeats’ first song to surpass 1 billion Spotify streams with ‘Calm Down.’ Despite mixed reactions to his debut album, with some praising its bold experimentation and others critiquing the output quality, Rema’s influence remains undeniable.
At a London listening party for his new album, Rema described ‘HEIS’ as an effort to return Afrobeats to its roots, emphasizing authenticity as the genre is increasingly simplified for international audiences.
