Burna Boy: The African Giant Commanding Stadium Stages
Burna Boy’s “I Told Them…” tour officially became the highest-grossing tour by an Afrobeats artist, pulling in $30.46 million USD from 302,801 tickets sold across multiple continents. In 2023 Burna Boy became the first African artist to sell out a stadium concert both in the United States and in the United Kingdom, marking an unprecedented achievement that signaled the genre’s arrival on the global stage. Burna Boy’s latest Billboard Hot 100 entry is also his 7th, which is an African record that places him two songs above compatriots Wizkid and Tems, cementing his position as one of Africa’s most commercially viable exports. On 10 July 2025, Burna Boy released his eighth studio album No Sign of Weakness, featuring Travis Scott, Mick Jagger, Stromae, and Shaboozey, showcasing his artistic versatility.
The tour’s London Stadium concert on June 29, 2024, alone grossed $6.147 million from 58,973 tickets, establishing it as the highest grossing single night performance by an African act in history. This level of commercial success demonstrates that African music can compete at the highest tier of global entertainment economics. In 2024 he became the first Afrobeats artist to perform at the Grammy Awards, sharing the stage with Brandy and 21 Savage in a culturally significant moment.
Wizkid: The Pioneer Shattering Records Since 2009
The 35-year-old Grammy winner became the most-streamed Nigerian artist on Apple Music and Spotify in 2025, an achievement propelled by both long-time fans and a new generation discovering his sound. As of November 2025, Wizkid holds the Guinness World Record for the most AFRIMA wins by an artist, with 10 victories from 2016 to 2023, highlighting his sustained excellence across multiple award cycles. He is the most awarded African artist at the BET Awards (4), Soul Train Awards (3), Billboard Awards (3), iHeartRadio Music Awards (2) and MOBO Awards (4).
The show highlights the world-class performance he had in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London in July 2023, where he became the first-ever African artist to sell out the venue. The album broke the record for the biggest streaming debut for an African album on Spotify with his sixth album Morayo, released in November 2024. Let’s be real, the fact that an artist can dominate charts without releasing new singles in a given year speaks volumes about his catalog strength and enduring influence.
Tyla: South Africa’s Youngest Grammy Winner
At the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2024, Tyla won the inaugural Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance with “Water”, also becoming the youngest-ever African artist to win a Grammy Award. The 22-year-old sensation achieved what many veteran spend decades chasing. Water also crowned the Rolling Stone 2023 list of 40 best afropop songs and has been nominated for Best International Song at the 2024 Brit Awards, securing her position as a crossover star.
She went on to win the most awards at the 2024 BET Awards, tying with Usher and Victoria Monét at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California, an extraordinary accomplishment for someone so early in their career. On 24 October, Tyla released the song “Chanel”, which became her highest charting entry on the Billboard Global 200 since “Water” (2023), peaking at number 30. Her fusion of amapiano with Western pop sensibilities created a blueprint that many emerging now study.
Davido: Breaking Streaming Records and Cultural Barriers
In 2023 Davido became the first African artist to top the iTunes Album Chart with the release of his +1B streaming and critically acclaimed fourth studio album Timeless. At Madison Square Garden in New York, on April 17, 2024, he sold out the iconic venue, grossing $1.3 million, his highest-grossing single show to date. These numbers aren’t just impressive on paper – they represent African music claiming its rightful space in the world’s most prestigious venues.
His career has accrued over 140 total nominations and a confirmed minimum of 77 career awards across international, continental, and domestic ceremonies. This immense volume of success places him firmly in the top tier of all-time Nigerian musicians. Davido received three nominations at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, including Best Global Music Album for Timeless and Best African Music Performance for “Unavailable”, recognition that validated years of relentless touring and recording.
Tems: The Soulful Voice Earning Oscar and Grammy Nods
Tems has evolved from singer-songwriter to business mogul. In February 2025, she joined the ownership group of San Diego FC, becoming a club partner ahead of the MLS expansion team’s inaugural season. The club noted she is a Grammy-winning, Oscar-nominated artist and highlighted her Grammy win for Best African Music Performance with “Love Me JeJe” from her album Born In The Wild. This kind of diversification shows African are thinking beyond music careers.
Tems won a Grammy Award in 2023 – she became the first female Nigerian artist to ever win the coveted award, breaking through a historically male-dominated field. Her emotionally resonant vocals and introspective songwriting have earned comparisons to Western R&B legends while maintaining distinctly Nigerian musical DNA. Honestly, her feature on Wizkid’s “Essence” was the moment many international listeners first took African female vocalists seriously, and she’s capitalized on that momentum brilliantly.
African music has officially broken through from niche curiosity to mainstream global force, and these are the architects of that transformation. Their combined billions of streams, sold-out stadium tours, and major award wins represent something larger than individual success – they’re proof that African creativity can compete at the absolute highest levels of the global entertainment industry. The question is no longer whether African can make it internationally, but rather which emerging talents will be next to join this elite tier. What do you think about this new era of African music dominance?
