Nigerian Afrobeats star Ayodeji Balogun, popularly known as Wizkid, has become the first African artist to surpass 11 billion total streams on Spotify, adding another major milestone to his international career.
The achievement was reported in May 2026, with music-industry tracking platforms and Nigerian media outlets confirming that the singer had crossed the landmark through his credited songs and collaborations.
The latest achievement extends Wizkid’s record on the global streaming platform. He had previously become the first African artist to reach 10 billion Spotify streams in January 2026.
The new milestone further separates him among African artists with the largest global streaming audiences and highlights the sustained popularity of his music catalogue.
Wizkid has built an international career through a combination of solo projects and collaborations with major artists around the world.
His global profile received a major boost through his collaboration with Drake on the 2016 hit One Dance, which topped charts internationally and introduced Wizkid to a much wider audience.
Wizkid’s achievement also reflects the rapid expansion of Afrobeats beyond Africa.
Nigerian artists including Burna Boy, Davido and Tems have established significant international audiences, while collaborations with global stars have helped Nigerian music reach listeners across Europe, North America and other markets.
Streaming platforms such as Spotify have played an increasingly important role in that expansion by allowing African artists to reach audiences without relying solely on traditional music distribution channels.
Wizkid’s latest record therefore represents both an individual career achievement and another indicator of the growing commercial influence of Nigerian music internationally.
Wizkid began his professional career as one of Nigeria’s leading young Afrobeats artists before gradually developing a global profile.
Songs such as Holla at Your Boy, Ojuelegba, Come Closer and Essence have become important parts of his catalogue, while albums including Made in Lagos have strengthened his position in the international music market.
His collaboration with Tems on Essence also became one of the biggest African songs to achieve mainstream success in the United States, earning international award nominations and chart recognition.
The singer’s continued ability to attract streams years after some of his biggest releases demonstrates the longevity of his catalogue.
Beyond the numbers, Wizkid’s latest achievement highlights how far Nigerian music has travelled in the global entertainment industry.
The growth of streaming has created new opportunities for African musicians to monetise international audiences and measure their reach in markets that were once difficult to access.
For Wizkid, the 11-billion milestone adds another chapter to a career that has increasingly connected Nigerian music with the global mainstream.
As Afrobeats continues to expand internationally, records such as this are likely to become an increasingly important measure of the genre’s global influence.