Check out These Viral African Songs that are Unforgettable
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African songs are one of the most beautiful songs to listen to in the world. Over time, Africa has united together, especially in terms of music, and they do well in dropping good music that eventually becomes viral and unforgettable. These songs, after their release, reach milestones and make the career of the artists by going viral both in and out of Africa to make an impact in the music scene in the world at large.
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Some of these songs, which are highly rated, are unforgettable, have gone viral, and have reached milestones, are listed below in no particular order.
AFRICAN QUEEN – 2FACE IDIBIA
“African Queen” is a 2004 R&B single from highly talented veteran Nigerian hitmaker 2Face. The song is released off his highly acclaimed debut solo album “Face 2 Face”. The song is a household song which is an instant classic of Nigeria’s urban music generation today. African Queen has been touted as one of the biggest hits to come out of Africa and served as the soundtrack to the 2006 Hollywood movie Phat Girlz.
“African Queen” is a beautiful song that celebrates “African women” and how they should be perceived. Defining the true color and beauty of this song, it made waves across the shores of the African continent and became one of the best songs to be released in the year 2004. The song was so commercially successful that decades after its release, it still tops the list of unforgettable songs released in the Nigerian Music Industry.
Johnny – Yemi Alade
Yemi Alade released this supporting single, “Johnny”, from her debut album, “King of Queens”. Due to the leakage of the song before its actual release, it had already gained lots of anticipation before its release, which aided the song. The song became an international hit song in many countries, and it set the stage for Yemi Alade’s prosperous music career.
The music video to the song, like the song itself, is a very catchy and dun one with a short play-act that tells the story of a certain man who is in a relationship with several women and the lies he tells to keep them. The music video currently has over 120.6 million views on YouTube, and it is one of the most viewed music videos on YouTube by a Nigerian artist and the most viewed by a female Nigerian artist.
It was also nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Single at the 2014 Headies Awards. Johnny has become a classic Nigerian record. This is the song Yemi Alade is renowned for at home and abroad, and it might be the biggest song of her career.
Jerusalema Remix – Master KG ft Burna Boy
When the popular hit song “Jerusalema” was first released, it became a smash hit single in the entire Africa. Master KG, a record producer, and singer decided to team up with Nigeria and African Giant Burna Boy to add spice to the already enjoyable song. The remix is what many people tagged phenomenal and outstanding. The song, which mostly renders praise to the Most High God, penetrated into the hearts of music lovers and lived rent-free in their heads.
No doubt, the remix blew up more than the original song, and it has amassed over 200 million viewers on the YouTube platform. Jerusalema is one of the best Nigerian-South African collaborations in history. The song went viral more than anyone could have anticipated, as it was being sung everywhere and was used to make lots of videos.
Woza – Mr Jazziq, Kabza De Small, Lady Du, Boohle
Mr JazziQ, who was announced by Spotify South Africa as the most streamed South African artist by Gen Z audiences, had a good year in 2020, and he continued the winning streak in the next years to come. He dropped his first song of 2021, “Woza”, which featured the Piano king, Kabza De Small, Lady Du, and Boohle. The track served as the lead single off JazziQ’s album “Party With The English” and has been doing well on streaming charts since its release.
A video clip of three guys dancing to the track outside the White House in Washington DC went viral, resulting in a dance challenge. This is one of the many reasons that made the song popular, aside from the heavy Amapiano beat of the song. It became popular on Tiktok with the dance challenge making it a viral hit song and one of the most popular African songs on the platform.
Yope Remix – Innoss’B ft. Diamond Platnumz
Talented Congolese singer Innoss’B, a serial hit maker trying to make his path and mark in the East African music industry and Africa at large, joined forces with Diamond Platnumz to remix the song titled “Yope”. Innoss’b, who wasn’t much present in the music scene prior to the release of this song, made his comeback to the music scene with this amazing song that brings happy vibes to its listeners.
Diamond, alongside Innoss’b killed the song as they both made a good delivery on the song while pushing their craft to the next level. The visuals of the song recorded over 16 million views in just six months of its release. The beauty of this song is the rhythm and bromance, which made it go viral and became one of the top songs in Africa when it was released.
Pombe – Iyani
Kenyan upcoming recording artist, the singer, songwriter, and performing musician who is currently signed to Utembe World label, Iyanii, stormed the music scene with this highly infectious song titled ‘Pombe’. The song, which translates to Above the head in English, is an incredible club banger that rocked the airwaves following its release. ‘Pombe’ is a trendy song produced by Waka Waka and mixed and mastered by Alexis on the beat.
This song became a sensation on the Tiktok platform, and it went viral from there. The song was used to make many music videos and social media, thereby heightening how much airplay the song received. No one can forget how the lyrics, “Pombe leta pombe ×2, Siwezi Bila pombe” was all we could hear on social media.
Essence – Wizkid Ft. Tems
“Essence” is a song by the award-winning Nigerian artist, Wizkid. He released the song as part of his award-winning, globally acclaimed ‘Made In Lagos’ album. The song is an amazing hit song that is globally accepted and received lots of attention and airplay. The song skyrocketed on massive levels, including making it into the U.S. Apple Music Top 50 charts and making it far on the Billboard Chart. The song kicked off with outstanding vocals from Tems, and Wizkid gave the song amazing love-themed lyrics. Produced by Legendary Beatz and P2J, ‘Essence’ is indeed a perfect breezy summer track, and it is undoubtedly one of the biggest breakout songs in Nigeria.
It became a golden song that broke many records on music platforms, and it rose Wizkid’s popularity, and it heightened his international recognition. It became the first Nigerian song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 and make it to the Top 10. The remix to the song, which featured Canadian singer Justin Bieber, also became a hit, and it further spiraled the success of the original song. “Essence” was later certified Gold in the United States as Wizkid’s second song to be certified in the United States. ‘Essence’ broke lots of records following its release, and it went viral on social media platforms. It also received a nomination at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.
Ameno Amapiano Remix – Goya Menor ft. Nektunez
“Ameno Amapiano Remix” is among the songs of the moment that might not fade away anytime soon. Goya Menor, multitalented singer, rapper, MC, and Hypeman, teamed up with Ghanaian record producer, singer, and composer, Nektunez to deliver the remix to the hit song ‘Ameno’.
“Ameno Amapiano” has enticing lyrics that interest its listeners and a cuddly rhythm that keeps them locked in. The song, which started a challenge on social media, trended for a long time on the platform following its release, and the lyrics are all people could recite and make videos with. ‘Ameno Amapiano’, in the long run, became the official party song for the year 2021, and it kept people up till this new year. This song did go viral, and the slang ‘You want to bam bam’ from the song went viral and was/is used greatly to warn people of their decisions.
Sad Girlz Luv Money – Amaarae ft. Moliy
The year 2021 was an incredible one for talented Ghanaian singer, Amaarae as she became more recognized with her hit songs. The song “Sad Girlz Luv Money”, featuring Ghanaian-American singer Molly, was released in 2020 from her album, “The Angel You Don’t Know”, and it gained much popularity on the Tiktok app after its remix featuring American singer Kali Uchis in September 2021.
This admirable song appeared on various international charts as well as reaching number 80 on the Billboard Hot 100 and being included in the Billboard World Digital Song Sales Chart and more. This made Amaarae gain more recognition and a spotlight in her music career.
Love Nwantiti – Ckay
Ckay, a talented singer and producer who was previously signed to Chocolate City Records, but is now with Empire African Records, released the song “Love Nwantiti” featuring Joeboy and Kuami Eugene in 2019 as the second track from his Extended Playlist, ‘Ckay The First’. The song became a commercial success in Nigeria, West Asia, North Africa, and many European countries. It became a global anthem and became a challenge on the Tiktok platform, making it one of the biggest Afrobeat songs of 2020. Love Nwantiti became a sensation in lots of countries, earning Ckay more recognition as it became the second Nigerian song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 after Wizkid’s ‘Essence’.
It also surpassed chart streams across the world, and it became historic as Ckay became Africa’s biggest artist on Spotify. ‘Love Nwantiti’ became certified in Gold in the United States after the hit had already been certified Gold in the United Kingdom and France, where it was later certified in Platinum, making it the first Nigerian song in France to receive the certification. ‘Love Nwantiti’ had lots of versions, thereby gaining popularity on Tiktok, and it further increased the success of the song. The song peaked at no. 2 on Billboard Global 200, no.31 on U.S. Billboard Hot 100, no. 47 on U.S Billboard Mainstream Top 40, no. 2 on U.S. Billboard Rhythmic, and no. 1 on U.S. Billboard World Digital Song Sales.
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