Last week, Billboard announced they were partnering with Afro Nation on the new US Afrobeats Songs chart, which “ranks the 50 most popular Afrobeats songs in the country based on a weighted formula incorporating official streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of leading audio and video music services, plus download sales from top music retailers.” The inaugural edition of the chart launched today and dominating the top spots are some big names not traditionally/primarily associated with Afrobeats music.
Three of the top five spots on the April 2-dated chart are occupied by songs featuring Ed Sheeran or Justin Bieber: CKay’s “Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah)” is No. 1, Fireboy DML and Sheeran’s “Peru” is No. 2, Wizkid’s Bieber- and Tems-featuring “Peru” is No. 3, Omah Lay’s Bieber-featuring “Attention” is No. 4, and Tems’ “Free Mind” is No. 5.
This week's top 5 on the inaugural U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart:
1. @ckay_yo Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah)
2. @fireboydml & @edsheeran Peru
3. @wizkidayo ft. @justinbieber & @temsbaby Essence
4. @Omah_Lay & @justinbieber Attention
5. @temsbaby Free Mind— billboard charts (@billboardcharts) March 29, 2022
Nos. 6-10 on the inaugural U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart:
6. @Pheelzonthebeat & @BNXN Finesse
7. @goyamenor & @nektunez Ameno Amapiano (You Wanna Bamba)
8. @temsbaby ft. @brentfaiyaz Found
9. @heisrema Calm Down
10. @ckay_yo Emiliana— billboard charts (@billboardcharts) March 29, 2022
Looking at the full top 50, Tems is the clear leader overall with eight entries, followed by Wizkid’s six, Burna Boy’s five, Rema’s four, and Davido’s three.
When the chart was announced last week, Afro Nation founder, co-head of UTA London, and Event Horizon founder Obi Asika said, “The last decade has seen Afrobeats explode into a worldwide phenomenon, influencing culture and fashion across the globe and I am humbled to have made a contribution to growing the genre alongside many talented, passionate people. There is still so much more potential within the scene and the community that has grown around it and I believe it is vital that with Billboard we now have a US chart that reflects this growth and provides a platform for emerging artists from every continent to showcase their talent to new audiences.”
Silvio Pietroluongo, Billboard‘s SVP of Charts and Development, added, “Billboard is excited to collaborate with Afro Nation on the launch of the Billboard US Afrobeats Songs chart. As with much of the world, Afrobeats has grown tremendously as a genre in America and we are proud to showcase the top songs and artists with this new weekly ranking.”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
