Wizkid’s achievements will surprise you
What you need to know:
Wizkid is the first African not only to perform but also sell out London’s Royal Albert Hall as Headliner
He is one of the hottest musical items in Africa today and Wizkid who turned 28 in July might not be a kid anymore.
The father of three has done well in changing the status quo and making Nigeria proud by selling out international concerts and getting nominations for international awards as well as winning them.
Following the release of his sophomore album and expiration of his 5-year recording contract, Wizkid left EME. On March 1 2017, Billboard magazine reported that Wizkid signed a multi-album deal with RCA Records. The deal was first reported by several media outlets in September 2016.[6] The chairman and CEO of RCA Records, Peter Edge, somewhat confirmed the signing while speaking to Music Business Worldwide in January 2017.
Seven Billboard Nominations
Billboard Chart, Photo: Africa ranking in the 2017 Billboard Music Awards which aired on May 21st. He bagged nominations for Top Hot 100 Song, Top Selling Song, Top Radio Song, Top Streaming Song (Audio), Top Collaboration, Top R&B Song, and Top R&B Collaboration.
Youngest African Artiste to get a Grammy nomination
Wizzy Wizzle as he is often called by Guardian Life’s cover star DJ Jimmy Jatt is also the youngest African Artiste to get nominated for a Grammy award Courtesy of the 2016 Drake album, Views.
Itunes World Chart record
Wizkid is the only Nigerian musician who not only made the number one spot on the iTunes World Chart.
On April 5, 2016, Wizkid became Nigeria’s first artist to emerge on Billboard’s following his guest feature on Drake’s afrobeat-infused “One Dance” single, reached number 21 and in May 12, 2016, the song reached number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, a position it kept for 10 non-consecutive weeks. The single went on to become an international smash hit, topping the charts in 15 different countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France and Germany.
Performance at Royal Albert Hall In London
Wizkid is the first African to not only perform but also sell out London’s most iconic venue, Royal Albert Hall as Headliner, joining musicians like Beatles, Adele, Elton.He sold out the venue in less than 72 hours and had a stellar performance on that night.
Most nominated artiste in Nigeria
As of 2017, Wizkid had received a total of 43 awards from 157 nominations which came from his native Nigeria, Africa and the rest of the World. Wizkid’s hit collaboration ‘One Dance’ with Drake and Kyla last year earned him three Billboard awards.
The first Nigerian to win an ASCAP Award
Wizkid is also the first Nigerian (if not African), to bag an international award from The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). The award was given to Wizkid in recognition of his role in the writing of Drake’s chart-topping hit single “One Dance”.
The Guinness World records
Wizkid is the first Afro-pop artiste to appear in the Guinness Book of World Records. This is as a result of his contribution to Drake’s smash hit, ‘One Dance’, which topped several charts worldwide. Although the song is technically Drake‘s single, Wizkid has songwriting credits for the One Dance which has the Guinness World Record as the most played song on Spotify with over 1 billion streams
