Nigerian Artists See 1,330% Surge Post-GRAMMY Nods
You may ask, what does a Grammy nomination really mean for a song's consumption or an artist's visibility?
African artists are no longer just an ephemeral blip in Grammy moments—they're now making a recurring statement. And from our light exploration last year, the Grammys bring an undeniable, if varied, boost to consumption and visibility for nominated works.
Projects like Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter, the most nominated album this year, has re-entered the Billboard 200 after departing the chart weeks ago. For any artist—whether a winner, nominee, or performer at the Grammys—the financial and cultural boost can be monumental, going anywhere between 4% and 400% after the ceremony, according to The Recording Academy.
Beyond numbers, the prestige of a Grammy validation often unlocks a cascade of opportunities. Koffee, for instance, parlayed her 2019 win for Best Reggae Album into a U.S. record deal. Or Kendrick Lamar, whose first Grammy stage appearance drove a 349% spike in his Instagram following at the time.
The "GRAMMY Effect" has also seen rising stars like Samara Joy, the 2023 Best New Artist, sales explode by 989% and streams for her album Linger Awhile leap by 670% on the night of her win. Similarly, H.E.R. witnessed a jaw-dropping 6,771% sales increase for her track I Can’t Breathe after it won Song of the Year in 2021.
The list goes on…but is this global phenomenon applicable to African artists, especially as their presence grows with Grammys' newly minted African-focused categories? With the Best African Music Performance category returning for its second year and Nigerian artists dominating nominations across three categories—Best African Music Performance, Best Global Music Album, and Best R&B Song—it's a timely question. Let's dig into the data and explore the ripple effects on African music and artists.
Best African Music Performance
Asake & Wizkid – "MMS"
The song’s Spotify streams skyrocketed by 108.29% on the day of its nomination, climbing from an average of 200,000+ daily streams to over 416,000+. However, this spike was short-lived, with numbers soon settling back to their usual averages. Other platforms showed no significant changes.
Burna Boy – "Higher"
A 93.54% boost in Spotify streams saw the track climb from 150,000+ daily streams to nearly 300,000+ post-nomination. Like "MMS," this marked the song’s highest gain in recent months, though consumption across other platforms remained steady.
Chris Brown feat. Davido & Lojay – "Sensational"
While the song maintained its typical daily average of 120,000+ Spotify streams, Lojay saw a considerable uptick in Instagram followers after the Grammy announcement, likely as a result of mentions/features across the media.
Tems – "Love Me JeJe"
Streams held steady at an average of 250,000+ daily on Spotify. Interestingly, TikTok usage of the song increased by 300% four days after the Grammy announcement, so directly linking that to the Grammy is debatable. Wikipedia views for Tems rose by 140%, marking an increase in interest, with a new daily average recorded post-nomination.
Yemi Alade – "Tomorrow"
This track saw one of the most dramatic shifts, with Spotify streams leaping by 256.25% — and earning its highest (five-day) streak in three months. On YouTube, daily views doubled from 4,000+ to 8,000+, a new average sustained even after the initial spike post-Grammy nomination. Wikipedia views for Yemi Alade also increased by 292% the day after the nomination, reflecting growing curiosity about her work. Days after the nomination, Yemi also achieved her second and third-highest daily follower gains on Spotify within the past three months.
Best R&B Song
Tems – "Burning":
While the song maintained a steady daily average of 100,000+ streams on Spotify, its nomination didn’t spur any significant changes in consumption across major platforms.
The Label View
Sony/RCA leads the pack among Nigerian Grammy-nominated artists this year with four nods, followed by EMPIRE, UMG/Mavin, Warner, and Effyzzie/IDOL with one nomination each.
Rema’s HEIS and Tems’ Born in the Wild are also nominated in the Best Global Music Album category.
You can catch the full nomination right here.