Ayra Starr Beats Tems, Tiwa Savage, Others to Top Newly Released Global Music Chart: "Sabi Girl"
- Songstress and Mavin star Ayra Starr was named the number one female Afrobeats artist worldwide in the last 12 months
- Spotify’s Latin America chart is completely ruled by Nigerian stars, with Rema coming top of the list
- South African Tyla’s omission from the female Afrobeats list raised questions despite her global award wins
Afrobeats keeps rewriting the global music map, and this time, it’s Ayra Starr who wears the crown.
Streaming giant Spotify has named the Nigerian hitmaker as the number one female Afrobeats artist in the last 12 months, hailing her as “the pop star of Afrobeats.”
The 22-year-old singer has been on a meteoric rise, dropping back-to-back hits and collaborating with global heavyweights, cementing her spot as one of the genre’s defining voices.
Source: Instagram
Following closely behind Ayra Starr is Grammy winner Tems, whose soulful voice continues to transcend borders.
American-Cameroonian breakout star Libianca grabbed the third spot, while Malian-French diva Aya Nakamura and UK-based Darkoo closed out the list.
But the biggest shocker? Tyla, the South African sensation, who has been sweeping major Afrobeats awards globally, didn’t make the cut.
Spotify also unveiled its list of Top 5 Afrobeats Artists in Latin America, and Nigeria’s dominance was absolute.
At number one is Rema, still riding high off the global success of Calm Down. Ayra Starr showed her range again, grabbing the second spot, while CKay’s evergreen Love Nwantiti secured him third place.
Burna Boy and Wizkid, two of Afrobeats’ most decorated icons, rounded off the list, making it a clean Nigerian sweep.
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Fans react to Ayra Starr's new feat
Legit.ng compiled the reactions of social media users below:
@eimeekay:
"She deserves this and more. Such a talented, hard working artiste'
@_maroe:
"Why is aya classed as afrobeats? Isn’t she just a French pop star?"
@morphoreous:
"I know the first 4 artists and theyre all excellent. Every single song Ayra had made that ive heard has been good."
@JAD080707:
"Some people crying cuz they named her "popstar of afrobeats let them tears keep coming joor"
@adaobiakwaugo:
"Mind you even if they did top 5 female amapiano artists or top 5 female pop artists miss water won’t be featured, that’s what happens when you have identity crisis"
@xyzbacko:
"Darkoo has more hits than Libanca since this list is based on charts, why is she #5?"
@szaspercolator:
"Just remembered ive seen her live her vocals lowkey tea"
Source: Instagram
Ayra Starr wins Mobo Awards
Legit.ng earlier reported that Ayra Star made history as the first woman in 16 years to win Best African Music Act at the 2025 MOBO Awards.
Her feat breaks the 16-year jinx as many female acts from Africa have been snubbed by this award.
The Afro-pop singer was in the same categories as South African Pop-piano superstar Tyla, American artists Kendrick Lamar and Megan Thee Stallion, and two-time Grammy winner Tems.
Source: Legit.ng
