Nigerian singer-songwriter CKay rises to No. 1 on Billboard‘s Emerging Artists chart (dated Nov. 13) to become the top emerging act in the U.S. for the first time, thanks to the success of his breakthrough single “Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah).”
The track ranks at No. 33, after reaching No. 31, on the Billboard Hot 100 with 10.6 million radio audience impressions (up 43%), 10.4 million U.S. streams and 2,200 downloads sold, according to MRC Data. It concurrently places at No. 4 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart and No. 5 on the Billboard Global 200, after reaching No. 2 on both lists.
The track continues to gain at multiple radio formats, as it rises to No. 19 on Rhythmic Airplay and No. 23 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and debuts at No. 40 on Pop Airplay.
Meanwhile, parent album CKay the First, released in 2019, holds at its No. 3 high on World Albums (7,000 equivalent album units).
Among other moves on Emerging Artists, Canadian metal band Archspire debuts at No. 10, thanks to its new LP Bleed the Future, which starts at No. 25 on Hard Rock Albums (4,000 units).
Plus, City Girls member Yung Miami debuts at No. 11 on Emerging Artists thanks to her new solo single “Rap Freaks.” The track bows at No. 23 on Hot Rap Songs and No. 30 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, as well as No. 81 on the Hot 100, marking her first solo entry on each ranking. City Girls spent 12 weeks at No. 1 on Emerging Artists in 2019-20, while Yung Miami’s fellow City Girl, JT, also debuted on Emerging Artists two weeks ago, at No. 23, powered by her new duet with Summer Walker, “Ex for a Reason,” which launched at No. 6 on Hot R&B Songs.
The Emerging Artists chart ranks the most popular developing artists of the week, using the same formula as the all-encompassing Billboard Artist 100, which measures artist activity across multiple Billboard charts, including the Hot 100, Billboard 200 and the Social 50. (The Artist 100 lists the most popular acts, overall, each week.) However, the Emerging Artists chart excludes acts that have notched a top 25 entry on either the Hot 100 or Billboard 200, as well as artists that have achieved two or more top 10s on Billboard’s “Hot” song genre charts and/or consumption-based “Top” album genre rankings.
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