Billboard Teams Up With Biggest Afrobeats Festival

On Tuesday 22nd of March, Billboard and global Afrobeats brand Afro Nation collaborated to create a new chart called the U.S. Afrobeat Chart.

Billboard’s SVP of charts and development, Silvio Pietroluongo, said, “Billboard is excited to collaborate with Afro Nations to launch the Billboard U.S Afrobeats songs chart.” He also added, “As with much of the world, Afrobeats has grown tremendously as a genre in America, and we are proud to showcase the top songs and artists with the new weekly ranking. “On the 29th of March, the Billboard U.S. Afrobeat songs chart went live on Billboard.com. According to a report from Billboard, this chart ranks the 50most popular Afrobeat songs in the country based on a weighted formula incorporating official streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of leading audio plus download sales from a top music retailer.

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Afrobeats and its influence in the U.S. Market

In a press statement about the partnership, Afro Nation founder and Co-head of UTA London Obi Asika stated “the last decade has seen Afrobeats explode into a worldwide phenomenon influencing culture and fashion across the globe, and I am humbled to have contributed to growing the genre alongside many talented, passionate people.”

Furthermore, he added, “there is still so much more potential within the scene and the community that has grown around it. I believe it is vital that the Billboard now have a U.S chart reflecting this growth and providing a platform for emerging artists from every continent to showcase their talent to a new audience.”

According to Rania Anifto, Afrobeats sound and influence have grown in the U.S. market throughout 2010. Through artists like Beyonce and Drake, the genre has yielded some of the biggest success stories of the young decade, including songs like WizKid’s Essence featuring Tems,  Love Nwantiti by Ckay, and Fireboy DML’s Peru.

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In July 2020, the official charts company in the U.K. released the top 20 Afrobeats charts. Billboard is thus extending this influence to Billboard U.S. Afrobeats song chart.

Furthermore, the festival is set to come on board as top Nigerian Afrobeat artists like WizKid, Davido, and Burnaboy would perform at the Afrobeats festival hosted in Puerto Rico. Also, this launch is the first-ever United States chart for Afrobeat music collaborating with AfroNation.

It is essential to know that Billboard publishes music charts showcasing the most popular albums and songs in various genres.