Billboard, an American music journal, has faced criticism for reposting an article that labeled Nigerian Afrobeats artist Divine Ikubor, better known by his stage name Rema, a “one-hit wonder.”
Based on the U.S. chart performance of his 2022 global smash hit Calm Down, especially its remix featuring American pop star Selena Gomez, Rema was ranked No. 6 in a June 2025 ranking titled “The 25 Biggest One-Hit Wonders of the 21st Century,” which was shared on the magazine’s official X account on Sunday.
Nigeria’s Rema saw the original “lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-wo-wo-wo-wo” version of “Calm Down” make an appearance on the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs list in 2023.
Surprisingly, Gomez consented when he took a chance and asked her to sing. According to the report, he told Billboard, “I had my fingers crossed.”
The remix catapulted Calm Down into global success, landing at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, while the original song earned popularity on the U.S. Afrobeats Songs list, according to Billboard. According to the journal, Rema has not made a comeback to the Hot 100, despite having six top-10 entries on the U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart as of June 7, 2025.
“It’s clear that veteran pop artist Gomez has other hits than the No. 3-peaking song “Calm Down,” but Rema hasn’t returned to the Hot 100 despite landing six top 10s on the U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart until June 7, 2025.
Online discussion of the ranking soon broke out, with detractors claiming that it does not accurately represent Rema’s wider global success. Numerous others cited his vast discography, which included hits like Woman, Iron Man, and Dumebi, as well as his debut album Rave & Roses, which peaked at number 10 on the UK Albums Chart. His international tours, festival appearances at Coachella and Wireless Festival, and partnerships with musicians like Chris Brown and 6lack were also emphasized by supporters.
However, some defended Billboard’s ranks, pointing out that the classification seemed to be based only on performance within the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 rather than international chart accomplishments or global streaming numbers.
Discussions over the shortcomings of U.S.-centric criteria in gauging the global impact of Afrobeats, a genre that has recently grown much outside American chart structures, have been rekindled by the newfound interest.
As of the time of publication, Rema had not officially addressed the rating.
