Nigerian superstar Ayra Starr reaches a new landmark as she hits 2 billion Spotify streams.

Since announcing herself with her self-titled debut EP in 2019, Ayra Starr has become one of Nigeria’s biggest musical exports.

The Grammy-nominated singer has reached another career milestone after surpassing 2 billion Spotify streams. According to Spotify data aggregating platform Kworb, the singer has tallied just over 2 billion streams as at October 10, 2024.

This feat comes months after she released her second album ‘The Year I Turned 21’ which has already surpassed 500 million Spotify streams.

The award-winning singer boasts of two songs with over 400 million streams. Rvssian’s ‘Santa’ on which she made a guest appearance has garnered over 455 million Spotify streams while her hit single ‘Rush’ has accumulated over 409 million Spotify streams.

Libianca’s ‘People’ on which she appears alongside Omah Lay has reached 106 million streams while her hit song ‘Bloody Samaritan’ has totaled 82 million streams.

Ayra Starr joins Wizkid, Burna Boy, Rema, CKay, Tems, and Davido as Nigerian artists with over 2 billion Spotify streams across all credits.

2024 has been a hugely successful year for the superstar who recently earned four nominations at the 2024 MTV EMAs. The 22-year-old singer will be competing for the Best New Artist, Best African Act, Best Afrobeats Act, and Best Push.

The singer has also teased the idea of a deluxe version for her sophomore album which has so far enjoyed impressive commercial success.

Halima Hassan, the mother of Rico Swavey, the late reality TV star, has opened up on coping with his death.

Swavey died on October 13, 2022 — a few days after he was involved in a ghastly car accident. He was buried in Lagos on October 20 of the same year.

In an interview on the ‘WithChude’ podcast, Hassan revealed she still talks to Rico’s pictures hung around her home while sharing her daily routine as if he were present.

She said the ritual brings her comfort and helps her cope with the loss. She said she made a promise to Rico after he was taken off life support.

“When he passed on, why I requested to stay with him at that very moment, I said to him ‘the music that you could not bring out, I will help you bring them out, I will do the remaining work for you, I am not going to let your hard work just go like that,’” she said.

“I still have Rico’s pictures all over the house. Every time I look at him, I smile and I say ‘Rico it’s another day for me, I am going out today’ and I will try to talk to the picture to tell him what I am doing for the day, then I will leave. I say my prayers every morning. Tell God to give me the courage to move on with my life.”

Davido, the Afrobeats star, has taken to social media to celebrate his twins’ first birthday.

In October 2023, Davido and Chioma Adeleke, his wife, welcomed their twins in the United States.

In a social media post on Wednesday, the singer thanked God for the first birth anniversary of his twin babies.

In the accompanying caption, Davido wrote: “👶👶 +1 Alhamdulillah.”

👶👶 +1 Alhamdulillah

— Davido (@davido) October 9, 2024

Davido had previously said that people told him it would be challenging for him and his wife to raise the twins.

The 31-year-old singer also described his experience of being a father to a set of twins as a blessing.

“I remember when they came, everybody was like we have twins and that it is going to be hard,” he said.

“But my twins are blessed. They don’t even cry. They are just calm and they are growing so fast. It is a blessing. Thank God for everything really.”