Without an iota of doubt, Nigerian music has taking over the world. Afrobeat as a music genre has produced a new culture of amusement, excitement, and enchantment as popular dance hall music in those areas, from Lagos to Accra, Nairobi, Dubai, Johannesburg, Cape Town, London, Toronto, Houston, and Atlanta, to mention a few with music fans dancing to the beat emanating from the sound monitors, which is recognized and praised as Nigerian music, whether they are in a bar, nightclub, lounge, or restaurant including the international stages.
It’s amazing to know that music created in Lagos or anywhere else in Nigeria have not only traveled globally have also received platinum certification in the US.
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It gained popularity as a result of musicians like Burna Boy, Davido, Wizkid, Asake, Tems, Tiwa Savage, and others earning praise for their work on a global scale.
However, the size of the nation’s population and the availability of music streaming platforms like Boomplay, iTunes, Spotify, etc. have both been cited as contributing factors to these singers’ success.
The ease with which Nigerian artists connect with audiences throughout the globe has improved their prospects of success.
According to Data Reporter’s statistics from 2023, Nigeria now has a total population of 221.2 million people, with 122.5 million of them using the internet.
Internet penetration was 55.4 percent at the time.
Early in 2023, there were 193.9 million active mobile phone connections in Nigeria, which represents 87.7% of the country’s entire population.
Nigerians generated 1.3 million playlists in one year after Spotify was launched.
Nigerian artists have an advantage over those from less populous nations thanks to the huge uptake of music streaming in the country.
From the UK to the US and other countries, the industry has emerged as a dominant musical force.
Popular Nigerian singers who have gained widespread recognition by winning multiple accolades and working with other international artists have significantly contributed to this trend, they are mentioned below:
Wizkid
Wizkid made history in May 2018 when he became the first musician from Nigeria to sell out the 20,000-seat O2 Arena in London. His career was launched by this occasion, and the theater has since hosted several of his sold-out performances.
On November 2022, the star boy appeared at the arena in New York, US, which could hold 20,000 people. The singer reportedly sold over 12,000 tickets for the event at a cost of $77 each, making the performance one to remember.
Wizkid has sold out renowned venues all around the world in addition to the O2 Arena, including the Accor Arena in Paris, France, which has a capacity of 20,300 people.
In addition to the 9,000-person Prospect Park Bandshell in the United States, the 5,272-person Royal Albert Hall, and the 5,039-person Event in Apollo, he has five times sold out the O2 Arena in the United Kingdom.
Davido
First, the O2 Arena in London was sold out in January 2019 by David Adeleke popularly known as “Davido”. During his spectacular performance, the singer and music producer collaborated with other outstanding Nigerian singers like Mayorkun, Peruzzi, and Dremo. Additionally, graced the stage was Zlatan Ibile, contributing to the amazing evening.
Several years later, in 2022, Davido once again sold out the O2 Arena. Fans all over the world were in awe as the musician once more gave an amazing performance.
Davido made over N1.352bn in gross earnings from his London concert.
Three pricing ranges were offered for Davido’s ticket: £41.25, £144.41, and £178.4.
This means that a ticket was sold for an average price of £121.36 based on these values.
Burna Boy
Burna Boy, also known as Damini Ogulu, became the first musician from Nigeria to sell out Atlanta’s 21,000-seat State Farm Arena by selling more than N4 billion in tickets.
Ticket prices ranged from $184 to $3,500, with an average selling price of $500. The figure of $10,500,000 will cost more than N4,483,500,000, according to BusinessDay calculations using the average sales of N213,500 ($500) multiplied by the arena’s entire seating capacity of 21,000, at the CBN exchange rate of N427 as of the time when the concert took place.
Recent concerts have been completely sold out at venues like the 20,000 Madison Square Garden, the 20,300 Accor Arena in France, the 16,500 Ahoy Arena, the 17,500 Ziggodome in Holland, and the 19,000 Toyota Centre in Houston.
Burna Boy has sold out show in many countries of the world like Switzerland, Sweden, France and UK.
Tiwa Savage
Tiwa Savage has continued to rule the music industry and she is the first female performer from Africa to sell out London’s O2 Arena’s Indigo concert. Tickets for award-winning singer Tiwa Savage’s North American tour was also completely sold out.
Tickets for the number one African bad girl’s “Water and Garri” performance in Toronto, Canada, were sold out, she revealed on her Instagram page.
Savage sold out the 4,921-seat O2 Academy Brixton in London. $344,000 was the revenue. In 2018, she sold out the O2’s 2,800-seat Indigo venue. With 16 sold-out concerts, her 2022 North American Tour brought in $1.48 million.
Rema
November 2022 Rema held a London leg of his ‘Raves & Roses’ tour at the 5,000-capacity O2 Arena Brixton Arena.
Rema invited her friend and fellow Nigerian singer Fireboy to perform during the show. Fireboy wowed the audience with some of his top hits, including their joint single “Compromise.”
Over a month has passed since the start of Rema’s “Raves & Roses” tour, during which he has given performances around Europe. The tour is named after his debut album, which had the huge hit “Calm Down” and was released in March 2022.
Rema recently declared that “Calm Down” had received more than 1 billion streams across all platforms. Since its release, the song has received widespread acclaim, and the remix featuring Selena Gomez has further elevated its profile around the world, earning $50,000 per show.
In Delhi, drivers had to wait hours in traffic to get to their destinations because of his sold-out performance. There were videos of him playing the popular song Calm Down in front of a large audience in Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which has a capacity of 60,254. The event was packed to capacity and may have been the largest afrobeats artist concert ever held in India.
In conclusion, the few mentioned artists were able to rule the world because they produced excellent music that anybody could appreciate. They are successful on a global scale and globally recognized and loved.