Nigerian superstar Rema has made history by becoming the first African artist to record over a billion streams for a song in the United States with his hit “Calm Down.”
The song has won awards, topped multiple charts, and is considered the biggest African music export to date.
Notably, the remix of “Calm Down” featuring Selena Gomez is the first Afrobeats and African song to accumulate over a billion on-demand streams in the U.S., as announced by Chart Data on June 17, 2024.
“Calm Down,” one of the lead singles from Rema’s debut album “Raves & Roses,” released in March 2022, achieved significant commercial success.
The remix with Selena Gomez became a global smash hit, particularly in the U.S., setting several records for an Afrobeats song and an African artist. It peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, spent over 52 weeks on the chart, and reached the top of the Billboard Pop Airplay Chart, both records for an African song.
Additionally, “Calm Down” achieved 4X platinum RIAA certification and became the first Afrobeats record to surpass a billion streams on Spotify.
The music video also holds the record for the most views by a Nigerian artist on YouTube, with the original surpassing 596 million views and the remix 893 million views.
