Afrobeats star Rema isn’t just arguably the biggest artist on the continent right now, he’s also one of the biggest in the world.
The 22-year-old has proven this without a reasonable doubt on multiple fronts over the past few months.
On Wednesday night, the Nigerian afrobeats crooner continued on his quest for global domination when he appeared on “The Tonight Show” starring Jimmy Fallon for a medley performance of his record-breaking hit “Calm Down” and his new single “Holiday”.
Watch here.
His mesmeric performance saw Rema showcase his growing chemistry with his talented band and his unique vocal range that sounds like an eclectic blend of Nigerian, Indian and Jamaican music.
Last month, Rema earned his career-first Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit with the remix for “Calm Down”, which features US star Selena Gomez.
“Trying to hold in the tears, I know how hard I worked to get my sound here. I’m grateful to God for how far I’ve come,” he wrote in an Instagram post.
Its peak position of 8th makes “Calm Down” the highest charting song ever by a Nigerian lead artist on Billboard, eclipsing Wizkid, Justin Bieber and Tems’ “Essence”, which peaked at number 9.
“Calm Down” was released as part of Rema’s debut studio album “Rave & Roses”, which peaked at number 2 on Billboard’s World Albums chart.
The Gomez-assisted remix, which came out last August, is currently spending a 29th week at number 1 on the US Afrobeats Songs chart, which is a record.
A few weeks ago, Rema celebrated the album’s one-year anniversary. “1 year ago I dropped Rave & Roses, the biggest African debut album of all time.
“Continue to cherish this project for it represents one of the pillars of our Rave culture, thank you for your undying love & support.”