{
  "id": 17184998,
  "title": "Wizkid becomes first African singer to hit 12 billion Spotify streams",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/wizkid-becomes-first-african-singer-to-hit-12-billion-spotify-streams",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-30T05:54:27.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Chronicle Ghana",
    "slug": "the-chronicle-ghana",
    "url": "https://thechronicle.com.gh/wizkid-becomes-first-african-singer-to-hit-12-billion-spotify-streams/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Nigerian artist Ayo Balogun, known professionally as Wizkid, has achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first African musician to surpass 12 billion streams on Spotify. This information was revealed on Monday by WizStatz, a music statistics account on X. WizStatz shared, \"WIZKID (@wizkidayo) becomes the first African Artist to surpass 12 billion Streams on Spotify Across All Credits,\" indicating that Wizkid's streams encompass all of his solo work, collaborations, and guest appearances. This achievement was reached after Wizkid had already become the first African artist to cross the 11 billion stream mark in May 2026. Born in Surulere, Lagos, Wizkid is a prominent figure in the growing Afrobeats genre, which combines Afrobeats, afropop, R&B, afrobeat, reggae, dancehall, and pop. He started composing music at the tender age of 11 and released a collaborative album with his church friends' group, the Glorious Five. Wizkid signed with Banky W’s Empire Mates Entertainment (E.M.E.) in 2009 and gained prominence with the lead single from his debut album, \"Holla at Your Boy.\"",
  "summary": "Nigerian Afrobeat musician Ayo Balogun, better known as Wizkid, has made history as the first African artist to reach 12 billion Spotify streams. The announcement was made on Monday by WizStatz, a music statistics account on X. Tagging Wizkid’s handle, WizStatz wrote, “WIZKID (@wizkidayo) becomes the first African Artist to surpass 12 billion Streams on […] The post Wizkid becomes first African…",
  "key_points": [
    "Wizkid becomes first African artist with 12 billion Spotify streams.",
    "He surpassed 11 billion streams in May 2026.",
    "Nigerian Afrobeats singer from Surulere, Lagos."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}