Grammy-winning Nigerian singer Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, has become the first African female artist to earn a Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Diamond-certified single in the United States.
The milestone comes courtesy of “Wait For U,” her acclaimed collaboration with American rapper Future featuring Canadian rapper Drake, after the song surpassed 10 million certified units in the US.
The RIAA’s Diamond certification, one of the most exclusive honors in the American music industry, is reserved for singles that cross the 10-million-unit sales threshold, a bar few artists worldwide ever clear.
According to global music monitoring platform Chart Data, the hit song has surpassed the baseline requirement, selling over 11 million units in the American music market, with the platform confirming the figure in a post on X that read, “US Certifications (@RIAA): Future (@1future) Feat. @Drake & @temsbaby, WAIT FOR U 11x Platinum (11,000,000).”
With this achievement, Tems now joins Wizkid as the only African artist to earn a Diamond single in the US. Wizkid was the first African artist to receive an RIAA Diamond Certification through his collaboration with Drake on “One Dance,” a milestone that made global headlines back in the late 2010s.
Tems’ achievement now cements her as the first woman from the continent to reach that same rarefied tier.
The certification caps off what has been an extraordinary year for the “Love Me Jeje” hitmaker. Tems has also become the first Nigerian to win two Grammys, taking home the trophy for Best African Music Performance with her “Love Me Jeje” single.
Beyond music, she has continued to expand her footprint across industries: she joined San Diego FC’s ownership group as a club partner, becoming the first African woman involved in MLS ownership, and performed at Aston Martin’s 2025 F1 livery unveiling in London.
She had also previously become the first African female artist to have a song hit 1 billion Spotify streams, with “WAIT FOR U”.
Her broader catalog underscores just how dominant she has become in the American market. Tracks such as “Essence,” “Free Mind,” “Higher,” “Me & U,” and “Found” have all secured multiple Platinum, Platinum, and Gold certifications, reinforcing her standing as one of the best-selling female African artists in US chart history.
Reaction to the news has been swift on social media, with fans describing it as another proud moment for Nigeria and the African music industry.
Tems’ trajectory from her breakout feature on Wizkid’s “Essence” in 2020 to now standing alongside him as one of only two African artists with a Diamond single in America reflects the wider global surge of Afrobeats, a genre that has moved from niche playlists to the top tiers of the US charts in under a decade.
For Tems, the achievement is less an isolated headline than a marker in a run of milestones that shows little sign of slowing.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Tems’ Diamond certification for “Wait For U,” built on over 11 million units sold, makes her the first African woman to reach this milestone in the US and second overall on the continent only to Wizkid.
It’s a landmark moment that, alongside her two Grammys and a billion-streamed single, confirms Tems as one of the driving forces behind Afrobeats’ rise into the mainstream of American music.
