Nigeria among top five countries streaming Amapiano on Spotify

Nigeria has been named among the top five countries streaming Amapiano on Spotify over the past 10 years.

NAN reports that Phiona Okumu, Spotify’s Head of Music in Sub-Saharan Africa, disclosed this in a statement on Friday.

The statement was released to celebrate the genre’s first decade.

Amapiano, which means “the pianos”, is a South African dance genre that emerged in 2014.

Aside from Nigeria, South Africa, the US, the UK, and Germany are the other countries streaming Amapiano.

Okumu said Amapiano listenership increased by 181 percent in the last year in Nigeria.

The music executive said the listeners are between the ages of 18 and 24.

“The Amapiano’s influence on the music culture in South Africa, and beyond has seen the world grip in an Amapiano frenzy from dance challenges to inspired collaborations and fusions,” she said.

“This international phenomenon is reflected in Nigeria, where Amapiano listenership increased by 181 per cent between 2023 and 2024.”

Okumu further expressed her excitement about how Amapiano is now used for “self-expression” around the world.

“Today they use Amapiano as a platform to amplify their voices, freely express their aspirations and showcase their resilience and creativity,” she added.

Spotify revealed Amapiano hit its first 100 million streams in 2020, followed by 300 million streams in 2021.

Davido’s ‘Champion Sound’ was earlier named the most-streamed Amapiano song in Nigeria over the past 10 years.