Calm Down: the first African-led song to a billion Spotify streams
In September 2023, Rema and Selena Gomez's Calm Down became the first track led by an African artist to reach one billion streams on Spotify. Spotify Africa announced the milestone, and the song had already peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Key points
- Calm Down was the first African artist-led track to hit one billion streams on Spotify.
- Spotify Africa announced the milestone in September 2023.
- Rema's original came out in February 2022; the Selena Gomez remix followed in August 2022.
- The remix peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
What happened
Rema, from Nigeria, first released Calm Down as his own song in February 2022, on his debut album Rave and Roses. The remix with American singer Selena Gomez arrived in August 2022 and carried the song to radio and playlists far beyond the usual Afrobeats audience.
One billion streams is a useful line because it is counted the same way for everyone. Plenty of African songs had travelled before, but none led by an African artist had crossed that exact line on Spotify. That is the record, stated carefully, and it is the one Spotify itself announced.
Claim by claim
Why this label: Reported by ABC Audio and by Capital FM, quoting Spotify Africa: Rema has entered the Billions Club with the first African artist-led track to hit a billion streams on Spotify.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: ABC Audio's report was published on 11 September 2023 and Capital FM's on 12 September 2023, both reporting the announcement as it happened.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Release history reported by Capital FM.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Chart peak and chart-toppers reported by ABC Audio.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Rema's quoted reaction in ABC Audio's report: It is not just a big win for me, my team and family, it is also a big one for the culture.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- The record is for the first African artist-led track, which is how Spotify Africa worded it.
- The song's Hot 100 peak was No. 3.
What we don't know yet
- A single agreed split of streams between the original and the remix across all time, which reports do not publish consistently.
- How long the record stood before other African-led tracks also crossed one billion streams.
Why it matters
Streaming records are the music business's public scoreboard. An African-led song at a billion streams told labels, playlist editors and advertisers that this audience was not a niche. It was a very large, paying, global audience that had been undercounted.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Story published.