Last week, ‘Made in Lagos’ peaked at no.28 on Billboards Global 200, the first of its kind for Nigeria. The Wizkid acclaimed fourth studio album debuted first on the international charts 7 weeks ago.
The track ‘Essence’ has received much of the spotlight, debuting a week before the album itself got global attention; First in July at no. 82, then to 72, later to 59, the following week at 54, and 44, and then went up 28places into the top 20, at no 16. This week, the song ‘Essence’ is at no. 13 following its remix with Canadian singer, Justin Bieber.
Essence received 23.2 million radio audiences in the US alone, with 87.3 thousand unit sales last week making it Billboards BIGGEST GAIN IN SALES AND STREAMING.
Holistically ‘Made in Lagos’ holds several spots on the Billboard charts, spanning from specific tracks like ‘Essence’, ‘Joro’, ‘Ginger’, to the entire body of work as well as all across various parts of the world.
Wizkid isn’t new to billboards accolades though, as collaborations on songs like ‘One Dance’ by drake and ‘Brown Skin Girl’ by Beyoncé have earned him international recognition prior to debuting with his independent album.
Other Nigerians ever spotted on Billboard would include, King Sunny Ade’s ‘Juju Music’ and ‘Syncro System’ which peaked at 111 and 91 spots respectively in 1983, Asa’s 2007 album which peaked at No. 32 on the Billboard Heatseeker’s charts, Burna Boy’s ‘Twice As Tall’ which debuted at No. 54 on the Billboard 200 charts, Davido’s only feature with ‘A Better Time’ in 2020.
Wizkid’s records are certainly groundbreaking, as news further circulated that ‘Essence’ featuring Tems and Justin Bieber has now become the most searched song on Shazam in the United States beating Jerusalema’s record.
