27 September 2022, CKay’s debut album Sad Romance has already had an impressive response across markets since its release on the 23rd of September. The project featuring notable African artists including Davido, Ayra Starr, Mayra Andrade, Ronisia, Abidoza, and Focalistic is following suit on the success CKay has been able to cultivate on streaming services since 2019, highlighting his reach and progression as an artist.
Sad Romance is now, just three days in, charting in over 50 countries worldwide on Apple Music’s ‘Top 100’ chart and scoring multiple playlists covers on Spotify, including New Music Friday Global, Nigeria, South Africa, and India. The lead track ‘Mmadu’ and additional records on the album including, ‘come close (feat. Ayra Starr)’ and ‘lose you (feat. Ronisia)’ have been added to over 70 playlists such as ‘Hot Hits India’, ‘Hot Hits Ghana’ and ‘Ginger Me’. The Nigerian superstar also took over Netherland’s essential Afrobeat editorial playlist, ‘La Vida Loca’, picking his favorite tracks from the album and from friends in the game. Currently, Sad Romance sits at #1 in Rwanda and Mauritius on Apple Music’s ‘Top Albums Music Daily’ Chart and #2 in Nigeria and Cabo Verde. On Shazam, CKay is ‘Artist of the Week’ while simultaneously claiming playlist covers on Apple Music’s Africa Now, Tidal’s Pop&B and Afro R&B, YouTube Music’s AfroPoppin and AfroBeats Now and Pandora’s New Music Now and New Afrobeats Now. The album has also amassed over 21 million streams on Audiomack.
Overall, the project sits at 242 million audio streams across platforms with top territories including France, Nigeria, the USA, Netherlands, and the UK. With top favorites‘ Mmadu’, ‘You’, ‘Come close’, and ‘lose you’ leading the pack it is promising to see what the upcoming Sad Romance Tour and visuals will bring. The highly attended and successful album launch in Lagos, Nigeria on the 22nd of September proved to be the electric kick start that catapulted the music from Lagos to the world stage. The forthcoming UK launch on the 29th of September also presents another opportunity for fans to connect and experience CKay’s sonic universe together.
ABOUT CKAY
Chukwuka Ekweani, known publicly as CKay, is the rising star in the ever-burgeoning Afrobeats scene. A multi-talented artist, whether behind the boards as a producer or in front of the mic performing his self-penned songs, it is CKay’s single-minded vision that shines through. The self-defined Emo-Afrobeat star has and continues to soar up charts across the globe thanks to his first globally recognized single ‘love nwantiti’.
The Nigerian singer, songwriter, and producer originally released ‘love Nwantiti (ah ah ah)’ back in 2019 as part of his debut EP, CKay The First. In 2021, CKay became the most streamed artist of the year and the first African artist with two tracks on the Global Spotify Top 30 simultaneously. ‘love nwantiti’ has been certified platinum/multi-platinum in five countries, including the United States, India and Italy. The viral hit has also been certified gold in the UK, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. CKay became the first African artist in 50 years to hold a top 5 position on the UK Singles Chart for 4 straight weeks with ‘love nwantiti’.
CKay has continued to create a global presence with accomplishments such as the “most Shazam-ed song in the world”. His most recent globally recognized single, ‘Emiliana’, has followed suit and racked in global chart positions and currently has just under 100 million streams. ‘Emiliana’ peaked at #1 on the UK Afrobeats Chart, #2 on Shazam Top 200 (Afrobeats), and #1 in six countries on Apple Music.
With new music on the way in 2022, CKay is bound to continue creating amazing music that will catch the attention of fans, both old and new, on a global scale.
Sad Romance is out now, Stream/live: https://Ckay.lnk.to/Sad_Romance
Follow his journey here:
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | TikTok | YouTube | Spotify | Apple Music | Shazam
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For Warner Music please contact: Eric.Gyimah@warnermusic.com
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