New York, NY (Top40 Charts) 'Calm Down', a single by Afrobeats artist Rema, has last week been certified double platinum in the UK.
The single, released in February of last year, has spent an incredible 52 weeks in the UK chart and dominated airways both in the UK and beyond. In the UK, 'Calm Down' has notched over 1.2 million registered sales, and it's resonated globally too; the track has been streamed over 2 billion times on all platforms worldwide. It has also been cemented as the #1 most-streamed Afrobeats song of all time on Spotify and made further history as the #1 most viewed African artist video of all time on YouTube.
The statistics speak for themselves; between August 2021 and August 2022, Apple
Music reported a 500% overall streaming increase for African DJ mixes. To support the many independent artists emerging from the region, Virgin
Music Group also launched in Africa in 2022.
Rema is an artist riding - and ultimately leading - that wave. After recruiting
Selena Gomez for a remix of 'Calm Down', his whirlwind ascent is to be celebrated at a headline show at London's The O2 on 14th November 2023.
Vanessa Bosåen, President at Virgin
Music UK, commented: "It's been wonderful to see Afrobeats resonate with music fans around the world and Rema is playing a huge role in its success. For 'Calm Down' to go double platinum is a terrific achievement, and yet another milestone in Rema's fantastic career."
Guillermo Ramos, General Manager at Virgin
Music UK, added: "Rema has evolved the Afrobeats sound with his very own blend of 'Afrorave', showing that culturally he is able to push the scene farther than ever before. 'Calm Down' is double-platinum now, and the consumption has barely slowed, so it is galloping towards being the biggest song in the genre ever in this country. That is a crown Rema 100% deserves to wear."