Malian-born singer Aya Nakamura has made history as the first female African artiste to reach one billion views on YouTube.
Her 2018 hit song Djadja achieved this milestone, solidifying her position as one of the most influential African artistes globally.
The track, which has also gained 5.8 million likes, tells the story of a woman standing up against false rumours spread by a former lover. Its empowering message, catchy rhythm, and visually appealing music video shot in Barcelona contributed to its massive success.
In 2020, Djadja made history by entering the international rankings of Billboard, a rare feat for a French-language song. That same year, Aya released a remix featuring Colombian superstar Maluma, which has since gained over 200 million views.
Aya Nakamura's achievement highlights the growing global impact of female African artistes, who are proving to be trailblazers in the music industry.
South African singer Tyla recently became the first African solo artist to hit one billion streams on Spotify in February 2024 with her breakout hit Water from her self-titled debut album.
Similarly, Nigerian singer Tems became the first African female artist to reach one billion Spotify streams, achieving the milestone with WAIT FOR U, her collaboration with Future and Drake.
With nearly 10 million monthly listeners on Spotify, Aya is one of the most streamed French-speaking artistes worldwide. She has joined an elite group of global superstars like Taylor Swift, Adele, and Shakira, who have also amassed billions of views on YouTube for a single song.
While artistes like Swift and Adele dominate the English-language music industry, Aya has broken barriers by achieving similar success with a French song-something only a few non-English-speaking artistes, such as Luis Fonsi (Despacito) and PSY (Gangnam Style), have managed.
Aya Nakamura, born Aya Coco Danioko in Bamako, Mali, in May 1995, was influenced by her mother, a traditional Malian singer. She launched her music career at 19 with her song Karma and later released her debut album Journal Intime in 2017.
Her global breakthrough came with her third album, Aya, which featured British rapper Stormzy, followed by her fourth album DNK in 2023.
She performed at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, earning praise for her electrifying stage presence and further cementing her status as a global icon.
Aya is now the second African artiset overall to surpass one billion views on YouTube, following Nigerian singer Rema, whose Calm Down remix with Selena Gomez reached the milestone in 2023.
