Wizkid hits 11 billion Spotify streams

Wizkid’s latest Spotify milestone is being treated online as another marker of how far his catalog has traveled beyond Nigeria. Posts circulating on X on May 18 and May 19 said the singer had become the first African artist to reach 11 billion Spotify streams across all credits. (theleaderng.com) Music site The Leader Nigeria reported the figure on Tuesday, citing a post from ChartsAfrica, while earlier January reports had already placed him first among African artists to pass 10 billion streams on the platform. The number matters in part because it extends a record Wizkid had already set this year. Daily Post Nigeria reported on January 9 that Wizkid, born Ayodeji Balogun, became the first African artist to surpass 10 billion Spotify streams across all credits. (x.com) Tuesday’s reports framed 11 billion as the next step in that same run, again counting solo songs, features and other credited appearances. ### How was the 11 billion figure reported? The May 19 report from The Leader Nigeria said ChartsAfrica announced the milestone in a post on X. Its account of the post described Wizkid as the first African artist to hit the 1 billion, 2 billion, 10 billion and 11 billion Spotify marks. (theleaderng.com) The NigeriaStories post referenced in social briefings also shared the 11 billion total on May 18. Spotify’s public artist page does not display a career total stream counter in the snippet available through search results. The page did show Wizkid with 9.4 million monthly listeners in the available result, which is a separate metric from total streams. (dailypost.ng) ### What does “across all credits” include for Wizkid? The January 9 Daily Post report said the total includes Wizkid’s streams “across all credits” on Spotify. That means the count is not limited to songs where he is the lead artist, but also includes featured appearances and collaborations credited to him on the platform. (theleaderng.com) One reason that matters is the size of Wizkid’s crossover catalog. Daily Post said his collaboration with Drake was his most-streamed song on Spotify, while “Essence” featuring Tems was identified as his most-streamed song as lead artist. Those tracks have been central to his streaming footprint for years. (open.spotify.com) ### Which release came just before the milestone? May 15 was the release date for “State of Mind,” Wizkid’s collaboration with DJ Tunez, according to The Leader Nigeria. The same report said the song logged more than 685,000 global Spotify streams in its first full day. (dailypost.ng) That release timing gave fans a fresh reference point as the 11 billion figure spread across X. Some posts cited in The Leader Nigeria article described the milestone as evidence of Wizkid’s staying power and global reach, while other fan accounts used it to compare rollout strategies among current Afrobeats stars. (dailypost.ng) ### Why were fans bringing up other artists? X users reacting to the figure linked Wizkid’s streaming pace to broader debates about promotion in Afrobeats. The social briefing tied some of that reaction to calls for artists including Rema to push upcoming albums more aggressively this week. Those comments came from fan chatter, not from Spotify or the artists themselves. (theleaderng.com) The comparison reflects how streaming milestones are often folded into wider arguments about visibility, release strategy and international reach. In this case, the verified part of the story is narrower: Wizkid had already crossed 10 billion in January, and reports on May 18 and May 19 said he had now reached 11 billion. (theleaderng.com) ### What comes next for tracking the number? Spotify’s artist page and music-data accounts are the places where fans are likely to keep watching. Wizkid’s next visible benchmark would be whatever updated stream total is cited by Spotify-facing trackers or music accounts after the May 19 reports, with new releases such as “State of Mind” adding to that count. (x.com) (open.spotify.com) (dailypost.ng)