‘Morayo’: Wizkid sets new record on Spotify

Grammy Award-winning Nigerian singer, Ayodeji Balogun, popularly known as Wizkid, has set a new Spotify record for the biggest streams by any song.

The superstar’s recently released album titled, “Morayo”, has claimed the number one spot on the Apple Music Nigeria Chart, with all his tracks dominating the charts to positions.

One of his singles from the album titled “Kese (Dance)” set the record for the highest opening day stream on Spotify Nigeria with 1.5 million streams.

Another single “Piece of My Heart” also surpassed 1 million opening day streams on Spotify.

Wizkid’s album, Morayo, which translates to “I see joy” in Yoruba, is a heartfelt tribute to his late mother, Jane Dolapo Balogun, who died in August 2023.

The album, which was released on Friday, November 22, features a tasteful selection of singers across genres.

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Wizkid, born in the Surulere area of Lagos, started his music career at 11 and released a collaborative album with Glorious Five, a group formed with Church friends.

In 2009, he signed with Banky W’s Empire Mates Entertainment (EME) and became famous with “Holla at Your Boy”, and since then, evolved to become a global brand.

Among other feats, Wizkid became the first Nigerian musician to have over one million followers on Twitter (now X) in 2014.

He became the first Afrobeat artist to appear in the 2018 Guinness World Records for his contribution to “One Dance” and his song “Soco” became his first Afrobeat single to be certified gold in Canada.

In 2019, Wizkid was featured on Beyonce’s “Brown Skin Girl”, taken from the acclaimed “The Lion King: The Gift” soundtrack, which earned him his first Grammy Award, among other nominations and awards.

Besides “Morayo”, his studio albums include Superstar (2011), Ayo (2014), Sounds from the Other Side (2017), Made in Lagos (2020), and More Love Less Hate (2022).

The Star