Tems Makes History as Africa’s Best-Selling Female Artist
Nigeria’s very own Tems has just reached a huge milestone — she is now officially the best-selling female artist in Africa!
Since starting her music career in 2018, Temilade Openiyi, known worldwide as Tems, has soared past legends like Angelique Kidjo, Tiwa Savage, and Yemi Alade to take the No. 1 spot.
Tems has sold more than 25 million units globally, according to chart data and that number is still climbing. Some of her major sales milestones include:
• ‘Essence’ – 5x Platinum in the U.S. (over 5 million units)
• ‘Wait For U’ – 3x Platinum in the U.S.
• ‘Free Mind’ – 2x Platinum
• ‘Higher’ – Platinum
Her music isn’t just big in America. Tems has also earned Platinum and Gold certifications across the UK, France, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and more showing just how global her sound has become.
What makes Tems’ rise so inspiring is how fast it happened. In just a few short years, she’s gone from releasing indie tracks in Nigeria to winning a Grammy, working with stars like Drake, Beyoncé, and Rihanna, and now leading the continent in female music sales.
While Cheb Khaled of Algeria remains Africa’s overall best-selling artist with 81 million units, and Wizkid follows with 75 million, Tems now leads the pack among female artists and she’s just getting started.