Rema’s Calm Down named in Spotify’s 2023 Songs of Summer chart

The chart, released on Wednesday along with lists for top podcasts and audiobooks, places Rema in 20th spot and in the company of other prominent popstars like Taylor Swift, Harry Styles and SZA.

‘Calm Down’, co-produced by Andre Vibez and London, was released in February 2022 as a part of Rema’s debut album Rave & Roses. In January this year, the song’s music video set a YouTube record as the most-viewed Afrobeats video on the platform. The video has since garnered 518 million streams.

The version featuring Gomez arrived in August last year, and is now the second-highest charting song by an African artist on Billboard Hot 100 history, currently in fifth position. YouTube’s March statistics revealed that the song also became a focus for fan-created Shorts.

Globally, the most-streamed summer song is ‘Ella Baila Sola’ by Mexican acts Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma, followed by ‘Where She Goes’ by Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny and ‘Seven’ by South Korean singer Jung Kook featuring US hip hop act Latto.

Earlier this month, Spotify named Rema as Afrobeats’ most exported artist and reported that revenues generated by Nigerian artists on its platform reached ₦11bn ($14m) in 2022.

In the middle of his world tour, Rema is set to perform at the 20 000-capacity O2 Arena in London, UK, on 14 November. Before that, he will be hoping to triumph at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on 12 September. Rema & Selena Gomez's ‘Calm Down’ has been shortlisted for Best Afrobeats Song, Best Collaboration and Song of the Year.

Below is the full 2023 Songs of Summer list:

1. ‘Ella Baila Sola’ by Eslabon Armado, Peso Pluma
2. ‘Where She Goes’ by Bad Bunny
3. ‘Seven (ft. Latto)’ by Jung Kook, Latto
4. ‘Cruel Summer’ by Taylor Swift
5. ‘La Bebe’  (Remix) by Yng Lvcas, Peso Pluma
6. ‘un x100to’ by Grupo Frontera, Bad Bunny
7. ‘Flowers’ by Miley Cyrus
8. ‘Daylight’ by David Kushner
9. ‘Sprinter’ by Dave, Central Cee
10. ‘As It Was’ by Harry Styles
11. ‘Cupid’ (Twin Version) by FIFTY FIFTY
12. ‘LALA’ by Myke Towers
13. ‘Kill Bill’ by SZA
14. ‘Peso Pluma: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 55’ by Bizarrap, Peso Pluma
15. ‘vampire’ by Olivia Rodrigo
16. ‘Dance The Night (From Barbie The Album)’ by Dua Lipa
17. ‘Classy 101’ by Feid, Young Miko
18. ‘TQM’ by Fuerza Regida
19. ‘I Wanna Be Yours’ by Arctic Monkeys
20. ‘Calm Down’ by Rema, Selena Gomez