Nigerian Grammy winner Burna Boy has surpassed Tems to become the African artist with the most entries on the Billboard U.S. Hot 100.
The two had been locked in a compelling deadlock at eight entries each. The tie was broken this week when “Dai Dai,” Burna Boy’s collaboration with Colombian global icon Shakira and the official anthem of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, debuted at No. 75 on the Hot 100, taking his career tally to nine, the highest by any African artist in the chart’s history.
The song had been building momentum since its release on May 15, blending Afrobeats, reggaeton, dance-pop, and world music across five languages: English, Spanish, Italian, French, and Japanese.
Written alongside a star-studded team that includes Ed Sheeran and Jon Bellion, the track surpassed 37 million Spotify streams within its first month and reached No. 2 on Billboard’s US World Digital Song Sales chart.
But it was the World Cup opening ceremony on June 11, at Mexico City’s historic Estadio Azteca, that truly sent the song soaring.
Burna Boy and Shakira’s electrifying live performance before a global audience of billions provided the commercial spark that pushed “Dai Dai” onto the Hot 100.
Beyond the record itself, what makes this achievement extraordinary is the consistency behind it. Burna Boy is also the first African artist to chart at least one song on the Billboard Hot 100 for six consecutive years, from Loved By You in 2021 through Last Last, Sittin’ On Top Of The World, Just Like Me, We Pray, WGFT, and now Only You and Dai Dai in 2026.
That unbroken six-year run in the world’s most competitive music market, accomplished without compromising his African identity, speaks to something far greater than chart statistics.
“Dai Dai” has since been voted the greatest World Cup song of all time in a Billboard reader poll, edging out Shakira’s own legendary “Waka Waka” from the 2010 South Africa tournament.
For Burna Boy, it is the latest and loudest confirmation of what he has long insisted: African music, on its own terms, belongs at the very top of the world stage.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Burna Boy’s ninth Billboard Hot 100 entry is not just a record; it is the culmination of six years of relentless consistency, global ambition, and an unwavering commitment to his African identity.
Through “Dai Dai,” the World Cup anthem heard by billions, he has not only outpaced every African artist in Billboard history but also proven that Afrofusion is no longer a genre knocking at the door of the global mainstream; it has walked in and taken a seat at the table.
