Here are 11 African female artists ruling spotify

Monthly listeners are a great way for fans to see which artists are popular on the streaming platform. Over time, they have become useful tools for determining the most popular artist on Spotify so far this year.

According to BusinessDay findings, here are the top African female artists with the most monthly listeners on Spotify:

Ayra Starr 26.5 million (1.97 billion total streams)

Ayra Starr has 26.5 million monthly listeners and is currently ranked 199th artist in the world at the time of writing this article. She is the highest-ranking African female artist on this list and the second-highest-ranking artist in Africa after fellow Mavin artist Rema. She peaked at 32 million listeners during the release of her sophomore album, ‘The Year I Turned 21,’ which dropped in May 2024 and further solidified her international appeal.

Tyla 21.3 million (1.52 billion total streams)

Tyla, South Africa’s singer, comes in second place with 21.3 million monthly listeners. Tyla peaked at 34 million monthly listeners. Her hit single, ‘Water,’ has amassed 838 million streams on the platform.

Following the critical acclaim of her debut album ‘TYLA,’ released in October 2023, she continues to build momentum with the deluxe version, ‘TYLA+,’ released in October 2024. With her undeniable talent and a rapidly growing international audience, the Grammy winner is poised to become a prominent voice in the global Afrobeats.

Tems 18.3 million (2.91 billion total streams)

If this list were based on most streams, Tems would be first with more than two billion Spotify streams. However, she ranks third for most monthly listeners, with 18.3 million on Spotify. She currently ranks 412th globally on Spotify. She recently released her sophomore album, ‘Born in the Wild,’ in June 2024, which has received critical acclaim from fans and critics alike.

Amaarae 6.7 million (944.86 million total streams)

Ama Serwah Genfi, professionally known as Amaarae, is a singer-songwriter, producer, and engineer, that grew up in Accra, Atlanta, and New Jersey. Her debut EP, ‘Passion Fruit Summers’, launched her as one of the most vital voices in alternative pop, paving the way for her breakthrough record, ‘THE ANGEL YOU DON’T KNOW.’ In 2021, Amaarae collaborated with Tiwa Savage on ‘Tales By Moonlight,’ as well as most recently with the Billboard-topping songstress Kali Uchis on a remix of ‘Sad Girlz Luv Money’ which amassed 451,144,862 streams on Spotify. Amaarae recently opened for Sabrina Carpenter’s ShortnSweet tour in Boston in October 2024.

Tiwa Savage 2.4 million (540.41 million total streams)

A veteran in the industry, Tiwatope Omolara Savage, popularly known as Tiwa Savage, maintains a strong presence with 2.4 million monthly listeners. Her single ‘Koroba,’ released in 2020, remains her biggest single on the platform, with over 46 million streams. Tiwa recently released her latest single ‘Forgiveness.’

Read also: Nigerian female artists take centre stage on music global scene

FAVE 2 million (276.75 million total streams)

Chidozie Godsfavour, known professionally as Fave, has over 2 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Fave released her latest single, ‘No Games,’ in September under her imprint Riddim Baby Ltd, which Warner Music Africa distributed. Her 2021 hit single ‘Baby Riddim’ is her most successful on the platform, raking over 61 million streams, with her feature on Davido’s ‘Kante’ raking over 69 million.

Uncle Waffles 1.7 million (65.44 million total streams)

Lungelihle Zwane, popularly known as Uncle Waffles, is the second South African on this list. The Amapiano artists ranked 7th on the list with 1.7 million listeners. Her most popular song ‘Yahyuppiyah’ where she featured Pcee, EeQue, and Chley, has over 25 million streams on Spotify. The song became a social media sensation with its unique dance choreography.

Qing Madi 1.6 million (34.85 million total streams)

Chimamanda Pearl Chukwuma, professionally known as Qing Madi, ranks next with over 1.6 million. Her single ‘Ole’ and her self-titled album ‘Qing Madi,’ released in 2023, pushed her to fame, and Ole was used to create Instagram and TikTok content. The sped-up version of ‘Ole’ featuring BNXN was released to further boost TikTok’s revenue.

Yemi Alade 1.1 million (279.65 million total streams)

Yemi Alade continues to captivate audiences with her music, drawing in 1.1 million monthly listeners. Her latest album, ‘Rebel Queen,’ released in July 2024, featured the likes of Angelique Kidjo and Ziggy Marley. Yemi Alade gave voice to the theme song for the Nollywood animated film Iyanu. Alade submitted her album and singles ‘Tomorrow’ and ‘Peace & Love’ for the 67th Grammy consideration.

Gyakie 1 million (112.89 million total streams)

Jackline Acheampong, professionally called Gyakie, is an Afro-Fusion/Afrobeats singer from Ghana managed by FLIP THE MUSIC, a music management and record label company. Gyakie has over 1 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Her single ‘Forever’ from her 2021 EP ‘Seed’ remains her most commercially successful body of work, with the remix of the song amassing over 32 million streams.

Ami Faku 1 million (76.65 million total streams)

Amanda Faku is a South African singer, performer and songwriter. Faku collaborated with South African DJ and producer Sun-El Musician on a song titled ‘Into Ingawe,’ certified 3× platinum by the Recording Industry of South Africa (RiSA). On 16 August, her single ‘Inde Lendlela’ was released.

The song later became certified platinum. The Amapiano singer was featured on Kabza De Small and DJ Maphorisa’s ‘Asibe Happy.’ Due to the success of Asibe Happy, she collaborated with the duo again to produce another song, ‘Abalele,’ which sounds like a remix of the collaboration.

Several other notable African female artists are making their mark on Spotify, deserving honourable mentions for their growing listener base. This includes artists like Simi, boasting a dedicated following of 961.2k monthly listeners, and DBN Gogo, amassed 885.8k monthly listeners. Additionally, Bloody Civilian (850.1k), Teni (789.4k), Cici (767k), and TxC (763.3k) are all steadily gaining traction and expanding their reach on the platform.