INTRODUCTION

2021 witnessed some of the most impactful singles ever released from Contemporary Nigerian artistes. It was the year, Chukwuka Ekweani aka Ckay had a miraculous turnaround in his career courtesy of his 2019 single “ Love Nwantiti” which took the world by storm and became a global sensation worldwide.


2021 was also the year Wizkid’s “Essence” featuring Tems off the Critically acclaimed “Made in Lagos” album made its mark internationally .

These two singles have made massive exploits globally, racking numerous awards and certifications along the line .


LOVE NWANTITI BY CKAY

Love Nwantiti is a song released by Nigerian singer/producer and creator of the “ Emo- afrobeats” genre, Ckay. The song was released as a track off his Ckay’s The First Ep in 2019. The remix of the song with Joeboy and Kuami Eugene also achieved commercial success with over 50 million audio streams and 150 million youtube views .


However , it wasn’t until 2021 that the single achieved widespread international success. The song charted across Europe, Australia,Latin America and New Zealand, reaching number one in India, France, Portugal. Switzerland ,Netherlands and Norway.

The song has been certified platinum in France , Canada,Italy, New Zealand, Portugal , Australia and certified Gold in the United States. It peaked at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart and reached number one on the Uk indies Single Chart.

It also peaked at No 29 on the US Billboard Hot 100, No. 2 on the Billboard Global 200 chart and appeared on the Canadian Hot 100 Chart .


A video for the North African remix featuring ElGrande Toto was released on November 4, 2021. It was shot in Lagos and was directed by TG Omori,. The video currently has over 60 million views on YouTube.


As of December 2021, “Love Nwantiti” is the most certified Afrobeats song and has generated over 15 billion streams on TikTok with many variations and covers worldwide .

ESSENCE


“I feel it coming , Time is of the essence”. These are the lines from one of the most Successful Afrobeats songs ever released and a familiar tune you will most definitely come across if you listen to your radios , go to shows or quite active on social media platforms in 2021 . The song is titled ESSENCE and is originally performed by ( Ayodeji Balogun) aka Wizkid and (Temilade Openiyi ) aka Tems.

Ayodeji balogun popularly known as Wizkid dropped his fourth studio album titled “Made in Lagos” on the 30th of October , 2020. Essence featuring Tems is the eleventh track on the album with production credits to London based producer , P2J and assistance from Wizkid allies , Legendary Beats . The Song sees Wizkid and Tems converse on the romantic theme of love and attention as Tems sings passionately that her lovers needs no other body asides herself. and Wizkid complements the chemistry with enough sexual innuendos .

The track is one of the stand out tracks from Wizkid’s Made in Lagos Album generating positive reviews from fans and critics alike. It was however the release of the Director K directed music video for the track in early 2021 that sparked fresh global interest in the song . The video has amassed over 60 million views on YouTube .

The song was included in Spotify Song of the Summer playlist in June 2021 and in Barack Obama’s 2020 playlist of his favorite songs. The song has been the face of Apple Music Today’s hits and On repeat , Youtube Afrobeats now, Audiomack Trending and other numerous playlists on a wide range of music streaming platforms across the globe .

The song has gotten co signs from Top celebrities across the world including but not limited to jhene Aiko., Saweetie, Kevin Hart, Ciara , 6lack, Wale, Kylie Jenner , Jesse lingard. Kidathegreat, Karreueche, Diddy, Don toliver, Young Paris , Big Sean, Snoop Dogg , Lot of NBA stars , Media houses , Award shows and many more respected voices and organizations in the global entertainment industry.


On July 12, 2021, ‘Essence’ became the first ever Nigerian song to crack the Billboard Hot 100 chart debuting at number 82 on the chart and peaked at no 9 on the chart . Essence has also peaked at no 8 on the United States Apple Music Top Ten Charts . The track has over 30 million streams on Spotify and has amassed over 15 million streams on Apple Music .


Many listeners and critics have tagged Essence the song of the summer and have hinted that the song should win its categories at the Grammy 2022 for the Best Global music performance of the year .

The remix with Justin Bieber had also help the song attain crazy heights in the market and is certified platinum in the United States of America . Essence is now double platinum in the United States of America .

Which of these songs do you think is the best and the most successful Nigerian single internationally .

Source : https://olaoluwaidowu.org/blog/2022/01/20/love-nwantiti-or-essence-global-afrobeats-single-of-2021/

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