Rema’s Rave & Roses becomes first African album to reach 3 billion Spotify streams

Key Points:

• Rave & Roses (Ultra) is the first African album to hit 3 billion streams on Spotify.

• Over 2 billion streams came from Calm Down and its remix with Selena Gomez.

• Tyla, Burna Boy, Wizkid, and CKay follow on the list of top-streamed African albums.

Nigerian star Rema has set a new record on Spotify. His debut album Rave & Roses (Ultra) has now surpassed 3 billion total streams, making it the first African album to ever reach that mark. This milestone confirms Rema’s spot among the top African acts shaping global music today.

The album’s success is driven by its lead track Calm Down, especially the hit remix with American pop star Selena Gomez. Both versions of the song together racked up over 2 billion streams, with the other 20 tracks on the album making up the rest.

Calm Down remix leads the stream boost

A big part of this success came from the lead single Calm Down.

The remix of the song with American singer Selena Gomez played a huge role.

Both versions of Calm Down gave the album more than 2 billion streams combined.

This means that the remix and original version alone pulled in most of the album’s total numbers.

The rest of the album’s 20 tracks contributed the remaining streams.

Tyla, Burna Boy, Wizkid, and CKay follow behind

Coming in behind Rema on the list is South African singer Tyla.

Her debut project Tyla has already crossed 2 billion streams.

This puts her second among the most-streamed African albums on Spotify.

Burna Boy also has two of his albums on the list — African Giant and Love, Damini, both with over 1 billion streams.

Wizkid’s Made in Lagos: Deluxe Edition and CKay’s CKay the First have also joined the 1 billion club.

These names show how far African music has gone in the global space.

Rema has yet to share a reaction to the news.

But fans and music lovers are already pouring in praise online.

Previously on ValidUpdates

Back in 2023, ValidUpdates reported that Rema’s Calm Down remix with Selena Gomez became the first African song to cross 1 billion Spotify streams. That same remix is now the biggest driver of this new album milestone.