Thursday, July 2, 2026 - Nigerian music star Burna Boy has become the African artist with the highest number of monthly listeners on Spotify after reaching a record 46.84 million listeners on the streaming platform.
The Grammy-winning singer surpassed the previous African
record of 46.58 million monthly listeners held by South African artist Tyla,
reclaiming the top spot on the continent's Spotify rankings.
The surge in Burna Boy's streaming numbers has been driven
largely by the success of "Dai Dai," his collaboration with Colombian
singer Shakira, which serves as the official anthem of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The song gained global attention following its performance during the
tournament's opening ceremony and has continued to perform strongly across
international music charts.
The achievement adds to Burna Boy's already impressive
streaming catalogue, led by hits including "Last Last," which remains
one of his most successful songs on Spotify and is approaching 600 million
streams.
The new milestone comes ahead of the release of Burna Boy's
next studio album and his planned "Unity Tour," scheduled to begin
later this year.
"Dai Dai" has also enjoyed strong commercial
success across Europe, reaching No. 1 in Spain, No. 2 in France, No. 3 in
Italy, No. 4 in the United Kingdom, No. 5 in Switzerland and No. 8 in Germany,
aided by extensive World Cup exposure and radio airplay.
Among African artists on Spotify, Burna Boy currently leads
Tems, who has 40.64 million monthly listeners, while Ayra Starr and Rema also
remain among the continent's most-streamed acts.
Globally, Spotify's all-time peak monthly listener rankings
continue to be led by Bruno Mars with 133.6 million listeners, followed by
Justin Bieber with 128.4 million, The Weeknd with 113.9 million, Rihanna with
110.3 million and Michael Jackson with 109.6 million.
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