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Rema’s hit single ‘Calm Down’ is on the verge of making history as it edges closer to becoming Africa’s first RIAA diamond-certified record. The song has now sold 7,000,000 units in the United States, marking another significant milestone in Rema’s career and for Nigerian music.
This achievement follows ‘Calm Down’ becoming the first African song to surpass a billion streams in the US, highlighting its immense popularity and the global reach of Afrobeats. The remix of ‘Calm Down’ enjoyed remarkable success in the US, spending over 52 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaking at No. 3. This position is the highest peak for a Nigerian song and the second highest for an African song, following Hugh Masekela’s 1968 record ‘Grazing In The Grass,’ which reached No. 1.
.@heisrema and @selenagomez‘s “Calm Down” has now sold over 7 million units in the US. pic.twitter.com/BYDHjRJpeA
— chart data (@chartdata) August 1, 2024
‘Calm Down’ holds several records, including the most-streamed Afrobeats song on Spotify with over 1 billion streams. It has also surpassed 2 billion streams across both its original and remix versions. Additionally, it boasts the title of the most-viewed Nigerian music video on YouTube, with over 928 million views.
As ‘Calm Down’ reaches 7X platinum status, Rema is closing in on the historic milestone of having the first diamond-certified song by an African artist in the United States. He is in a tight race with CKay’s ‘Love Nwantiti,’ which is currently Africa’s highest RIAA-certified song with 8 million units.
Building on the massive success of ‘Calm Down,’ Rema released the impressive EP ‘Ravage’ and followed it up with his sophomore album ‘HEIS,’ further cementing his place in the global music scene.