Billboard has come under heavy criticism online after reviving a 2025 article that described Nigerian music sensation Rema as a “one-hit wonder.”
The US-based music publication reshared the piece on its official X page on Sunday, revisiting a list of 25 artistes classified under the category. Rema was placed sixth, largely due to the global success of his hit song Calm Down, which featured American pop icon Selena Gomez.
According to the article, although Rema had already begun gaining attention in the United States with the original version of the track, the remix featuring Gomez propelled the song into mainstream global recognition. Billboard noted that the remix reached number three on the Hot 100 chart but claimed the singer has not returned to the chart since.
“After releasing the original ‘lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-wo-wo-wo-wo’-ing version of ‘Calm Down’ in 2023, Nigeria’s Rema noticed it breaking on the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart. He took a swing and recruited Gomez for the female vocal and, shockingly, she agreed. ‘I had my fingers crossed,’ he told Billboard,” the publication wrote.
“The No. 3-peaking ‘Calm Down’ was obviously not veteran pop superstar Gomez’s only hit, but Rema has yet to make it to the Hot 100 again — although he has landed six top 10s on U.S. Afrobeats Songs, through the June 7, 2025, chart.”
The post immediately sparked backlash, with many fans accusing Billboard of undermining Rema’s influence and overlooking his numerous achievements.
“All I could see is hate on Rema’s greatness, nothing more. Calm Down was a global hit before Selena jumped on it. Rema has countless hits that the world knows,” one user commented.
Another user blamed the perceived disregard for African talent on leadership failures across the continent.
“Una don really see Africans finish. Rema of all people one-hit wonder. Any disrespect Africans get in any sector is because of bad leadership — sports, entertainment, aviation, oil and gas, everything,” the user wrote.
Rema, born Divine Ikubor, originally released Calm Down in February 2022 as part of his debut album Rave & Roses. The remix followed later that year and went on to shatter multiple records.
The track became platinum in the UK, topped charts in India, and in August 2023, emerged as Billboard’s longest-charting Afrobeats song in the US. It later crossed one billion streams on Spotify and became the longest-charting African song on the Billboard Hot 100.
By February 2026, the remix had surpassed 1.3 billion views on YouTube, making it the most-watched Nigerian music video of all time.
