18th April, 2023
By Nehru Odeh
There seems to be no end in sight to the rise and rise of Nigerian Afrobeats sensation 22 year old Rema as “Calm Down”, his hit remix with Selena Gomez has climbed up to No. 6 position on the Billboard Hot 100.
Stunning? Sure. With this feat, Rema has not only set a new record as the highest charting Africa song on Billboard Hot 100, it has extended it’s stay on the chart to 32 weeks. It also received a RIAA Platinum plaque before going on to set the African charting record on Billboard Hot 100.
The hit song’s soaring performance on the international music scene is as ironic as it is unrelenting. The song, as the title Calm Down suggests, has refused to calm down.
Just as the lady about whom Rema sings in the hit single, not only has it refused to calm down, it has put everybody’s in a lockdown and continues to melt hearts across the globe.
Melt hearts across the globe? Certainly. It seems every week brings a new feat the song has performed on the international scene, setting new records, breaking barriers and opening new vistas.
Recently the song garnered 400 million views on Youtube, making him the first Afrobeat artiste to do so : as it surpassed the previous record set by CKay’s ‘Love Nwantiti.
The song had earlier reached number one on both the Billboard US Afrobeats Songs and the Billboard Global Excl. US charts, and peaked at number three on the Global 200 chart
It had also charted across Europe, reaching number one on the Belgian Ultratop 50, Dutch Top 40 and Dutch Single Top 100.
The song achieved another feat last December when the song earned a spot on former American president Barrack Obama’s annual 2022 music playlist, alongside those of otjher Africa artistes such as Burna Boy and Ayra Starr.
Other international artistes on the list included Kendrick Lamar’s “The Heart Part 5,” Bad Bunny’s “Tití Me Preguntó,” Rosalía’s “Satoko,” and SZA’s “Shirt,” as well as other songs from Beyoncé, Ethel Cain, Burna Boy, Maggie Rogers, Sudan Archives, and more.
With the way “Calm Down” has gone and is still going, this song about how Rema found love at a time in spite of initial stumbling blocks has indeed broken barriers and is set to surpass over 2 billion across all platforms.
As Rema’s love story which he has lyricised so well continues to melt hearts, it breaking into the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100 is a sure bet. Music buffs across the globe can take that to the bank.
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The Dumebi crooner, in a recent interview with Z100 New York, disclosed that he made his first N1 million at 17 and gave it to his mother.
,“The person who I knew needed it more was my mum. So, I handed everything I made to her. I know it was cool to drive around the city as a 17-year-old in a cool whip. But I can’t drive a cool whip when my mum didn’t have a car or my mum has to borrow my keys. You know, I had to put her on first.
“Passing all of that to her, whatever investment she makes… I made my first million [naira] at 17 but I made more than a million. But it’s cool to be in that stage to be able to provide [for your family], ” Rema maintained. He added that his proudest moment was when fans sang his song ‘Calm Down’ word-for-word during his performance in Australia last year.
The 22-year-old singer who will be 23 on 1 May 2023 also spoke about his predilection to help others.
“Someone created an opportunity for me to bless the world this much. So, I can’t imagine how much the people I helped are going to bless the world. You know, I go hard not just for myself. I go hard for them. As doors open for me, I wanna open doors for them, ” he said.