The Meteoric Rise Of Ayra Starr To A World Audience

Ayra Starr has taken the music world by storm since her 2021 debut, making her one of the top Afrobeats artists in the world.

Spotify data shows that she is in the top 10 most streamed Afrobeats artists of all time.

Now, the “Gen Z princess” as she is popularly referred to, is embarking on her first World Tour. Tagged ‘21: The World Tour’ in a nod to her current age, the tour will span three continents: America, Africa, and Europe; with the North America leg of the tour focusing on the United States and Canada, where most of her 2023 streams on Spotify are coming from.

The top 10 countries streaming Ayra Starr’s songs according to Spotify are the United States of America, France, the United Kingdom, Nigeria, Netherlands, Germany, Canada, Sweden, South Africa and Kenya. It, therefore, makes sense that almost all these countries are part of the destinations listed on her tour.

Her song Rush is popular in the USA, France, Malawi, Italy, Zimbabwe, UK, South Africa and Spain so the fans can definitely be sure it will be part of her set. Rush also tops the list as her most exported song among listeners in the 18-35 age group; and her most playlisted song. The fans just cannot seem to get enough of this 2022 release.

 Spotify’s artist and Label Partnerships Manager for West Africa, Victor Okpala says: “Ayra Starr is one of our Spotify RADAR alumni, and has proved that she is an exceptional musical talent and a unique voice in the music space among Gen Z’s. Her musical journey has been inspiring to watch.”

Earlier this year, she released the song Sability which features an interpolation from Awilo Longomba’s classic album, Coupé Bibamba. The song ranks as her most streamed song in Nigeria, followed by Tiwa Savage’s Stamina which features her and Young Jonn.

However, the love is not only limited to her recent releases; Bloody Samaritan, released in July 2021, is her second most playlisted song and also one of the top exported songs. Her other top exported songs are all features including hers and Omah Lay’s feature on Libianca’s People, Wizkid’s 2 Sugar and Mavins’ Overloading (OVERDOSE).

For music lovers and mobstars as her fandom is known, she is not just a singer; she is the 21-year-old leading the new generation of female artistes in Nigeria.