Burna Boy Ends 2025 as Spotify’s most-streamed African Artist

Burna Boy ended 2025 as the most-streamed African artist on Spotify, racking up nearly 2 billion streams.

Even though there was hardly a viral hit or much hype around his music last year, Burna’s focus on consistent output, strategic touring, and keeping his catalogue visible paid off. The result is a record-breaking performance that led to the biggest streaming year ever recorded by an African act.

Spotify offers more than play counts. Its metrics, monthly listeners, playlist adds, saves, and popularity scores, give insight into an artist’s reach and engagement.

Burna Boy’s 1.986 billion streams last year highlight how many people listened, but also how often they returned to his music and how far his audience stretches globally.

Close behind was Wizkid, with 1.947 billion streams, despite releasing no major album in 2025, relying mostly on previous releases and consistently appearing in features throughout the year.

This shows that a strong discography and loyal fan base can sustain streaming performance, even without major new releases. 

Touring amplified Burna Boy’s reach last year. His album ‘No Sign of Weakness’, released in July, gave fans fresh material, but it was his live shows that drove listeners back to his previous works. His recent tour, promoting his 2023 album ‘I Told Them’, grossed $30.5 million across 22 shows, selling over 300,000 tickets.

Explore in Detail: Burna Boy Shatters Records as the Highest-Grossing African Touring Artist of All Time

By mixing new tracks with old hits, Burna converted casual listeners into streamers, a strategy that reinforces catalogue performance while keeping him visible internationally.

It’s methodical: touring generates revenue and also feeds streams in a cycle that rewards artists with depth and consistency.

Burna Boy’s streaming success continues to show that streaming numbers aren’t always about viral song moments. Artists who maintain a presence through touring, regular releases, or archive rotation tend to perform better in long-term streaming metrics.

Wizkid’s second-place finish illustrates this, too. Even without a new album, his older hits continued to pull in billions of streams.

Read Also: How Burna Boy Became Africa's Greatest Touring Artist

Burna Boy’s record-breaking Spotify year numbers set the tone for 2026 and offer a clear snapshot of how African music continues to reach listeners worldwide. It’s a milestone that both fans and observers are likely to watch closely.