Burna Boy is back on the throne of the digital streaming charts. The Grammy award-winning Nigerian musician has smashed the Spotify record for most monthly listeners by any African artist, hitting an all-time high of 46.84 million. Online Media
Now with this milestone the African Giant inches beyond South African phenomenon Tyla who had a previous record of 46.58 million monthly listeners.
This big streaming increase didn’t occur by accident. It is substantially boosted by the global dominance of “Dai Dai,” Burna Boy’s blockbuster collaboration with Colombian icon Shakira. The song, the official anthem of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, was performed with gusto at the opening ceremony and quickly soared up the international music charts, earning the hearts of Nigerians at home and the large diaspora community around the world.
Burna Boy’s streaming high boasts of enormous solo hits, although “Dai Dai” is the current rocket fuel fuelling his peak in monthly listeners. Before this World Cup boost, his 2022 Grammy-nominated song “Last Last” was his most downloaded song on Spotify, with close to 600 million streams. MusicStreaming & Downloads
The milestone also provides a fantastic launchpad for his next studio album and the accompanying global “Unity Tour” happening later this year.
Thanks to huge World Cup ratings and considerable radio play, “Dai Dai” has secured prime real estate on top European charts:
Spain: Number 1
France: No. 2
Italy: 3rd.
4. United Kingdom: No.
Switzerland: No. 5
Germany: Number 8
Trailing current chart-topper Burna Boy is the 40.64 million monthly listeners of Oscar-nominated soprano Tems. Ayra Starr continues to command vast real estate on global playlists, along with Calm Down hitmaker Rema (29.43 million). Music Streaming & Download
Pop and R&B continue to dominate the platform’s all-time peak monthly global listening charts. Bruno Mars is the most listened to artist in history with 133.6 million monthly listeners, just ahead of Justin Bieber with 128.4 million. The Weeknd lands in third place worldwide with 113.9 million listeners, while Rihanna (110.3 million) and Michael Jackson (109.6 million) complete out the top five biggest historical listener milestones.
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