Billboard Partners Afro Nation to Launch First U.S. Afrobeats Songs Chart
Afrobeats sounds and influences grew in popularity in the United States during the 2010s, owing to artists like Beyoncé and Drake.
Now the genre has produced some of the most successful songs of the new decade, including Wizkid’s “Essence” featuring Tems, CKay’s “Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah),” and Fireboy DML’s “Peru.”
The 50-position Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart rates the country’s most popular Afrobeat songs based on a weighted algorithm that considers official-only streams on subscription and ad-supported tiers of key audio and video music services, as well as download sales from top music retailers. The Billboard US Afrobeats Songs chart will be available on billboard.com on March 29th.
“The last decade has seen Afrobeats explode into a worldwide phenomenon, influencing culture and fashion across the globe and I am humbled to have made a contribution to growing the genre alongside many talented, passionate people,” Afro Nation founder, co-head of UTA London and Event Horizon founder Obi Asika said of the partnership in a press statement.
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With musicians like Wizkid, Burna Boy, and Davido due to appear at their event in Puerto Rico in 2022, Afro Nation is one of the major drivers of the sound’s rise in the United States.
“There is still so much more potential within the scene and the community that has grown around it and I believe it is vital that with Billboard we now have a U.S. chart that reflects this growth and provides a platform for emerging artists from every continent to showcase their talent to new audiences,” said Osika.
This latest effort builds on Afro Nation’s partnership with the Official Charts Company in the United Kingdom, which in July 2020 issued the Top 20 Afrobeats Chart. They have now extended their influence to Billboard with the revolutionary Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart.
“Billboard is excited to collaborate with Afro Nation on the launch of the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart,” said Billboard’s SVP of Charts and Development, Silvio Pietroluongo.
“As with much of the world, Afrobeats has grown tremendously as a genre in America and we are proud to showcase the top songs and artists with this new weekly ranking,” he added.
Source: Billboard
Abeeb Lekan Sodiq is a Managing Editor & Writer at theafricandream.net. He is as well a Graphics Designer and also known as Arakunrin Lekan.
