Nigerian singer-songwriter Tems has reached a historical milestone by becoming the first African female artist to have a song earn one billion streams on Spotify.
As predicted earlier by TNR, the feat was accomplished through her Grammy-winning collaboration with American rapper Future and Canadian rapper Drake on the hit single “WAIT FOR U.”
“WAIT FOR U” samples Tems’ song “Higher” and was released on May 2022. The song debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Tems’ first number-one single in the United States. It further peaked in the top ten of the charts in other countries such as New Zealand, Ghana, Canada, and Japan.
The success of “WAIT FOR U” extended beyond the charts; it won a Grammy at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Melodic Rap Performance and an American Music Award for Favorite Hip-Hop Song at the 50th Annual ceremony. Tems earned her first Grammy award and second AMA in the process.
“WAIT FOR U” currently stands at 1.8 billion streams on Spotify with a daily stream count of 871, 653 according to StatsCrave.