CKay’s Love Nwantiti goes 8 times platinum in US

CKay’s latest milestone arrives about a year after the track went four times platinum. The track was first released in 2019 as part of CKay’s sophomore EP CKay the First, but it was not until 2021 that it catapulted the singer to international stardom, following global chart-topping success.

The song, which debuted on the Billboard Global 200 chart, made him the first Nigerian to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify. ‘Love Nwantiti’ was also Shazam’s longest-running global No 1 song of 2021.

Since its release, the hit has inspired multiple remixes by different artists, including fellow Nigerian singer Joeboy, Ghana’s Kuami Eugene, Moroccan rapper ElGrandeToto and US artist De La Ghetto.

The song, a staple on TikTok for several months, is also widely credited for driving the ongoing global impact of Afrobeats. 

Though CKay, a self-styled ‘emo Afrobeat’ musician and producer, has released multiple songs since, including ‘Emiliana’, ‘Watawi’ and ‘You’, it is ‘Love Nwantiti’ that has turned out to be his career opus.

In September 2022, CKay released his 12-track debut album Sad Romance via Warner Music South Africa. 

The RIAA has been awarding gold and platinum certifications to musical works in the US since 1958. A platinum certification is granted upon reaching 1 million equivalent streams.

Meanwhile, the RIAA’s 2023 music revenue report released this week showed record-setting growth, with total revenue reaching $17bn, an 8% increase. Music streaming accounted for 84% of revenue, driven by a surge in paid subscriptions to on-demand services, hitting $96.8m. Revenue from physical products also rose by 11% to $1.9bn, led by vinyl records, which generated $1.4 billion, marking a 10% increase. Vinyl sales surpassed CDs in unit sales for the first time since 1987. Despite this, CD sales also grew by 11%, reaching $537m in 2023.