Nigeria Shines to the World As Ayra Starr Becomes First Nigerian Female Singer to Hit 1 Billion YouTube Views

By: Olufemi Orunsola 

Nigerian music star, Sarah Oyinkansola Aderibigbe, known professionally as Ayra Starr, has become the first Nigerian songstress to hit 1 billion views on YouTube.

OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News reports that by this feat, she has now surpassed Yemi Alade’s record of the most viewed female artiste of all time on YouTube as the 23-year-old songstress overtook Alade’s record of 805 million views with 1 billion views.

Leading the list of views on the platform, Ayra Starr’s hit Grammy nominated song ‘Rush’ garnered over 450 million views.

Following the new career feat, the singer joins her male colleagues, Burna Boy, Flavour, Wizkid, Davido, Rema, Ckay, Kizz Daniel, P-Square, Omah Lay, Fireboy and Tekno as the Nigerian artistes to have surpassed 1 billion views on YouTube.

OTN News recalls that the Nigerian singer and songwriter who was born in Benin Republic, achieved mainstream international recognition in 2022, with the release of her song "Rush".

The song charted in several territories, including Switzerland, Ireland and the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number 24.

It also earned Starr a nomination at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards for Best African Music Performance.