Three Takeaways from TurnTable’s Mid-Year Charts

Nigerian music keeps gaining ground

Written by Uzoma Ihejirika - 17.Jul.2023

Before July 2020, when TurnTable Charts was launched, there were no recognisable homegrown music charts that documented the popularity of songs and artists in Nigeria. In the US, there is Billboard, publishers of Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200, among others; and in the UK, there is the Official Charts Company’s Official UK Top 40 and Official Albums Chart Top 100, etc. It is the gap in the Nigerian music scene that Nigerian entertainment company TurnTable (co-founded by Ayomide Oriowo and Similoluwa Adegoke) sought to fill with TurnTable Charts.

“There’s a lot of misinformation within Nigerian music; there are many things that people do not have credible data to verify. Also, there’s no standard music market worldwide that doesn’t have music charts,” shared Ayomide Oriowo, its Editor-in-Chief. Since its inception, TurnTable Charts, in partnership with several music platforms and organisations, has compiled data from airplay on radio and satellite TV as well as audio and video streams, most especially with its Official Nigeria Top 100.

In 2021, TurnTable Charts and the NATIVE premiered the inaugural edition of the official Songs of the Summer charts, which were divided into the Songs of the Summer Nigeria chart and Global Afrobeats Songs of the Summer chart. The charts featured the hottest songs of the season within the country and the international community. TurnTable Charts and WeTalkSound, a Nigerian music collective, also established the Recording Certification of Nigeria (RCN), a music certification body in the same mould as the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the US, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in the UK and the Recording Industry of South Africa (RISA) in South Africa.

This week, TurnTable Charts unveils its mid-year lists of Top 20 albums and Top 20 songs that have dominated the charts in Nigerian music. The lists contain songs and albums from December 9, 2022 to June 9, 2023. Here are three takeaways from the mid-year lists.

 

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YOUNG STARS LEAD THE PACK

With the global reach of Nigerian music, many newer Nigerian artists are wasting no time enjoying the benefits of the road paved by predecessors. Although Wizkid, Davido and Burna Boy are still regarded as The Big Three of the Nigerian music industry, artists such as Rema, Ayra Starr, Omah Lay, Fireboy DML, Joeboy, Victony and Ruger are charging to the forefront and attaining new heights, with their music crossing into wider markets. 

On the Top 20 Songs list, Omah Lay’s “soso” sits at No. 1 with 87.4m on-demand streams across all platforms. His debut album ‘Boy Alone’ is at No 4 on the Top 20 Albums list with 93.8m on-demand streams. Ruger’s “Asiwaju” follows at No. 2 on the songs list with 78.1m on-demand streams and his ‘The Second Wave (Deluxe)’ is at No. 18 with 22m on-demand streams. Other acts such as Rema, Ayra Starr, Zinoleesky and Seyi Vibez also feature on both the songs and albums lists.

THE VETERANS MAKE AN IMPACT

While the younger Nigerian artists enjoy their time in the sun, the veterans aren’t left out. Davido’s comeback album ‘Timeless’ is at No. 1 on the Top 20 Albums list with 185.6m on-demand streams and his singles “UNAVAILABLE” with Musa Keys and “FEEL” sit at No. 13 with 40.4m streams and No. 17 with 37.1m streams respectively on the Top 20 Songs list. Wizkid’s ‘More Love, Less Ego’ is at No. 7 on the albums list with 51.4m on-demand streams and he  is also at No. 14 on the songs list via Rexxie’s “Abracadabra (Remix).”

Burna Boy’s ‘Love, Damini’ and ‘Twice As Tall’ are at No. 5 with 71.7m on-demand streams and No. 20 with 4.7m on-demand streams on the albums list. Tiwa Savage also shows her star power via Spyro’s “Who Is Your Guy? (Remix)” with 56.3m streams on No. 4 and “Stamina” with Ayra Starr and Young Jonn with 35m streams on No. 18 on the songs list.

LOW FEMALE REPRESENTATION REMAINS

On both the Top 20 Albums and Top 20 Songs lists, Ayra Starr and Tiwa Savage are the only featured women. On the songs list, Ayra Starr is at No. 10 with 43.9m streams via the Mavins collaboration “Won Da Mo,” No. 15 with “Sability” 38.6m streams and No. 18 via Tiwa Savage’s “Stamina.” Starr’s ‘19 & Dangerous (Deluxe)’ is at No. 17 with 25m on-demand streams on the albums list.  On the other hand, while Tiwa Savage has two entries on the songs list, she doesn’t appear on the album list.

Although both lists are primarily indicative of the consumption levels of the public, it also calls into question the low representation of women in the music industry from artists to record producers. While artists such as Tems continue to prove that women are also major stakeholders in the Nigerian music industry, there needs to be more acceptance of the works of women, as it is with those of their male counterparts. 

Find the complete Top 20 Song and Top 20 Albums lists below.

TOP 20 SONGS

1. “soso” by Omah Lay – 87.4m

2. “Asiwaju” by Ruger– 78.1m

3. “Gwagwalada” by BNXN, Kizz Daniel & Seyi Vibez – 65.1m

4. “Who Is Your Guy? (Remix)” by Spyro & Tiwa Savage– 56.3m

5. “Soweto (Remix)” by Victony, Tempoe & Rema ft. Don Toliver – 56m

6. “Party No Dey Stop” by Adekunle Gold & Zinoleesky – 50.3m

7. “RTID (Rich Till I Die)” by Kizz Daniel – 50.1m

8. “Xtra Cool” by Young Jonn– 46.5m

9. “Personal” by Zinoleesky – 46.1m

10. “Won Da Mo” by Mavins, Boy Spyce & Rema ft. Crayon, Bayanii, Magixx, LADIPOE & Ayra Starr – 43.9m

11. “2:30” by Asake– 42.7m

12. “Holiday” by Rema – 41.6m

13. “UNAVAILABLE” by Davido ft. Musa Keys – 40.4m

14. “Abracadabra (Remix)” by Rexxie, Naira Marley & Skiibii ft. Wizkid– 39.6m

15. “Sability” by Ayra Starr– 38.6m

16. “Cough (Odo)” by EMPIRE & Kizz Daniel– 37.8m

17. “FEEL” by Davido– 37.1m

18. “Stamina” by Tiwa Savage, Ayra Starr & Young Jonn– 35m

19. “Yoga” by Asake – 34.2m

20. “Body & Soul” by Joeboy – 33.6m

TOP 20 ALBUMS

1. ‘Timeless’ by Davido – 185.6m on-demand streams

2.‘Billion Dollar Baby 2.0’ by Seyi Vibez – 131.1m on-demand streams

3. ‘Mr. Money With The Vibe’ by Asake – 116m on-demand streams

4. ‘Boy Alone’ by Omah Lay – 93.8m on-demand streams

5. ‘Love, Damini’ by Burna Boy – 71.7m on-demand streams

6. ‘Grit & Lust’ by Zinoleesky – 70.2m on-demand streams

7. ‘More Love, Less Ego’ by Wizkid – 51.4m on-demand streams

8. ‘The Villain I Never Was’ by Black Sherif – 49.1m on-demand streams

9. ‘EMPIRE Presents: Where We Come From, Vol. 01’ by Various Artists – 39.8m on-demand streams

10. ‘Love Is Not Enough, Vol. 2’ – EP by Young Jonn – 39m on-demand streams

11. ‘Hypertension’ by Bella Shmurda – 37.4m on-demand streams

12. ‘Rave & Roses’ by Rema – 36.8m on-demand streams

13. ‘Chapter X’ by Mavins – 35.9m on-demand streams

14. ‘Memory Card’ by Seyi Vibez – 31.8m on-demand streams

15. ‘Playboy’ by Fireboy DML – 31.5m on-demand streams

16. ‘Outlaw’ by Victony – 30.7m on-demand streams

17. ‘19 & Dangerous (Deluxe)’ by Ayra Starr – 25m on-demand streams

18.‘The Second Wave (Deluxe)’ by Ruger – 22m on-demand streams

19. ‘Big Time’ by Rexxie – 15.5m on-demand streams

20. ‘Twice As Tall’ by Burna Boy – 14.7m on-demand streams

You can read a full breakdown of the mid-year charts here.

Featured image credits/NATIVE

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