16/07/2025
Happy 35th Birthday to the gorgeous, massively talented Grammy winning Nigerian Singer, Songwriter, Superstar, Fashion & Global Icon and Legend, the One & Only who paved the way for many! 👏🦅🌟🐐👑💚🤍
WIZKID is the Best-selling Afrobeats Artist of All Time with sales of over 65 million units, and the Most streamed African Artist and first to surpass 20 Billion audio on-demand streams on Spotify, a record unmatched by any other African artist. He is the African Artist with the Most streamed song of All-Time on Spotify with "One Dance", his global smash hit collab with Drake! "One Dance" was the first song to reach a Billion streams on Spotify, and the most streamed song on the platform at that time! It has now over 3,706 Billion official streams on the platform! It's also the 6th most streamed song of All Time on Apple Music! "One Dance" made WIZKID the highest-ranked African artist on Apple Music’s recent All Time most-streamed songs list, further solidifying his streaming dominance. WIZKID was the 1st African Artist to win a Guinness World Record with "One Dance"!
WIZKID is credited for popularizing Afrobeats worldwide in the late 2010s and early 2020s! His work with Drake, Beyoncé, Justin Bieber, Chris Brown and Skepta has broken barriers for African artists, establishing him as a key figure in Afrobeats’ global rise! The Superstar was named by Billboard for being the 1st African artist to truly make a major pop breakthrough in the United States! He was the 1st Nigerian Artist to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 with an African song, the 1st Afrobeats Artist to reach the Hot 100 Top 10 as a lead Artist with his global smash hit "Essence" and the 1st African Artist to hit #1 on the Hot 100 (with "One Dance")!! WIZKID is the African Artist with the most RIAA platinum certifications (3)! He is the African Artist with the longest-charting African Album on the Billboard World Albums Chart! His 'Made in Lagos' (2020) charted for over 100 weeks. It also peaked at #1, making it the highest-charting Nigerian album on the Billboard World Albums Chart!
WIZKID is the Most Awarded African Artist in history with over 160 awards, including a Grammy, 4 BET Awards, 2 American Music Awards, 6 MOBO Awards, 3 Billboard Music Awards and 2 MTV EMAs, among others. He is the 1ST African Artist to win a Grammy Award, taking home 'Best Music Video' for his contribution to Beyoncé’s "Brown Skin Girl" (featuring Saint Jhn and Blue Ivy Carter) in 2021, becoming the first African artist among Nigeria’s "Big 3" (Wizkid, Davido, Burna Boy) to win a Grammy! WIZKID was the 1ST Nigerian Artist to be nominated for a Billboard Music Award and received 7 Billboard Music Award nominations, the Most for a Nigerian artist, for his collaboration on "One Dance" with Drake in 2017 and for "Essence" in 2022, highlighting his crossover success! Wizkid is the only African artist to have won multiple Apple Music Awards, recognized for his contributions to Afrobeats and his global streaming success.
WIZKID is the Most Followed Nigerian Artist across Social Media Platforms including Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, with over 10 million followers on Instagram alone! He was the first Nigerian artist to organically achieve 1 million views on a single Instagram post, reflecting his massive social media influence!
WIZKID sells out concert venues and continues to break records! He scored the Fastest Sell-Out of London’s O2 Arena by an African Artist in 2022, shifting 20,000 tickets in just two minutes for his 'Made in Lagos tour', breaking his own previous record of shutting down the venue in 2017 and 2018.
WIZKID is also a top Entrepreneur, and founded Starboy Entertainment in 2013! He has signed several very successful Artists including Maleek Berry, Legendury Beatz, Mr Eazi, Efya, R2Bees, and Terri, further amplifying his influence as a label owner.
WIZKID is also a Fashion Icon and in 2018, he was a runway top model for Dolce & Gabbana alongside Naomi Campbell during Milan Fashion Week, becoming the first Nigerian artist to hit the catwalk at such a high-profile fashion event! In 2018, WIZKID with Nike designed a customized Starboy FC jersey, becoming the first African artist to have a personalized jersey with the brand. This partnership also promoted Nigeria’s Super Eagles jersey for the 2018 World Cup, which was celebrated by Vogue and other top publications!
WIZKID’s records span chart performance, streaming milestones, awards, and cultural influence, making him a trailblazer for Afrobeats and African music globally. His achievements, such as being the first Afrobeats artist in the Guinness World Records, topping the Billboard Hot 100, and dominating streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, underscore his pioneering role. His 6th album Morayo (2024) continues this legacy, with unprecedented chart performance on Apple Music! All its songs occupied the top 17 positions on Apple Music’s Nigerian chart within 10 hours of release. The lead single, "Piece of My Heart" (featuring Brent Faiyaz), peaked at #4 on the U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart and #7 on the World Digital Song Sales chart!
World Wizkid Day
