South African singer Tyla has claimed the top spot on Billboard’s U.S. Afrobeats Songs Artists 2025 year-end chart, edging out some of Nigeria’s most established superstars in a genre long dominated by West African talent.
The 22-year-old Johannesburg native’s ascent to the number one position marks a significant milestone for both her career and the broader African music landscape, as she outpaced Nigerian heavyweights Wizkid, Davido, and Burna Boy—artists who have spent years building the genre’s international footprint.
Billboard’s recently released rankings place Wizkid at number two, followed by rising star Rema in third place. Veteran performers Davido and Grammy winner Burna Boy rounded out the top five at numbers four and five respectively, underscoring the continued dominance of Nigerian artists even as the genre’s geographic reach expands.
The top ten list reflects Afrobeats’ growing diversity, with American-Ghanaian artist Moliy joining Nigerian acts Asake, Shallipopi, Seyi Vibez, and BNXN to complete the upper tier. This international representation signals the genre’s evolution from its Nigerian roots into a truly pan-African and diasporic movement.
The second half of the top twenty features a mix of established and emerging talent, with Fola, Tems, Olamide, Fido, and Ayra Starr occupying positions eleven through fifteen. Omah Lay, Chella, Kizz Daniel, Zinoleesky, and T.I Blaze claimed spots sixteen through twenty, while British-Nigerian artists Odeal, Young John, Odumodublvck, Kunmie, and Ayo Maff completed the twenty-five-artist chart.
Tyla’s breakthrough comes on the heels of her global smash hit “Water,” which dominated airwaves and streaming platforms throughout the year, earning her widespread acclaim and introducing South African amapiano-influenced sounds to mainstream American audiences. Her success represents a potential shift in Afrobeats’ power dynamics, suggesting that the genre’s commercial center of gravity may be expanding beyond Lagos.
For the Nigerian stars she’s surpassed, this chart positions them in familiar but perhaps unexpected territory—still dominant, but now facing serious competition from across the continent. The question now is whether Tyla’s success signals a temporary breakthrough or the beginning of a more sustained challenge to Nigerian Afrobeats supremacy in the crucial U.S. market.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
South African singer Tyla has made history by topping Billboard’s 2025 U.S. Afrobeats chart, becoming the first non-Nigerian artist to claim the number one spot in a genre traditionally dominated by Nigerian superstars.
Her victory over established giants like Wizkid, Davido, and Burna Boy signals a significant shift in Afrobeats’ geographic landscape, proving the genre is evolving beyond its West African roots into a truly pan-African movement with global commercial appeal.
