A decade worth of excellence: Davido's top 10 biggest songs

Nigerian singer, songwriter, music producer, and record label executive, David Adedeji Adeleke who is famously known as Davido is celebrating a decade of resounding successes in the music industry.

The multi-award-winning artist has not only shaped the face of the music industry but has continued to influence sounds across Africa for over 10 years now since he first dropped his first smash hit “Back When” featuring rapper, Naeto C.

• Davido Biography: Music, relationships, global recognition, 30BG, controversies

Davido started out as a music producer but he since moved to become one of the biggest recording artists and performers Africa has ever seen.

His exploits are well detailed across the internet but we celebrate Davido’s 10 years of service and excellence by checking out his top 10 biggest songs in the last decade.

1. Fall

On 28 May 2020, Davido received one of his biggest accolades yet for his song, Fall. The record was certified GOLD by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), one of the only two Afrobeats singles to achieve the feat in the United States in Afrobeats history. A GOLD record has typically sold over 500,000 copies.

Fall is also certified GOLD in Canada as well as other countries too.

 

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Asides from being certified in several countries around the world, Davido’s fall also has over 56 million streams on Spotify as well as over 200 million views for its video on YouTube. The song also peaked on Billboard charts at number 3.

Watch the record-breaking video below

Fall also set the precedence for other Nigerian songs on YouTube. It became the first-ever video by a Nigerian to reach 100 million views on the platform. It is also the most-watched music video by a Nigerian on YouTube.

2. IF

IF is another masterpiece by the Nigerian Afrobeat superstar. Davido released ‘IF’ in 2017 and it blew up spreading across the continent like wildfire.

The track is also Davido’s second record-breaking song. It was also certified GOLD in the United States of America by the RIAA.

The song also charted on Billboard and peaked at Number 10 on 11 March 2017. ‘Fall’ peaked at the number 3 spot.

‘IF’ is also Davido’s third most streamed song on Spotify with over 36 Million streams.

3. Blow My Mind (feat. Chris Brown)

When news first broke about a potential collaboration between Davido and American singer, songwriter, and dancer, Chris Brown, the whole internet went berserk with excitement.

The news also came with some skepticism from critics who wondered what the song would turn out to be.

Well, to their utmost surprise, Davido and Chris made magic and blew everyone’s mind with a fantastic track off the album ‘A Good Time’ even releasing a smash hit fan-favorite video to complement it.

The song went on to become Davido’s third-biggest hit recording over 43 million streams on Spotify and it even peaked at number 3 on Billboard charts in 2019.

“Blow My Mind” was a follow-up to “Fall” and you can imagine his level of excellence releasing such huge tracks back to back.

4. Risky (feat. Popcaan)

Another record from Davido that also did massive numbers was his 2019 song ‘Risky’ featuring Jamaican singer, songwriter, and DJ, Popcaan.

The song did not only peak at the number 4 spot on the Billboard chart but was also streamed over 49 million times on YouTube. Most interestingly, the song was crafted out of a Tim Westwood freestyle he was severally mocked for after he goofed on the beat. Talk about making lemonades when life throws you lemons!

This reflects how huge the superstar’s character is. He literally turned his critics’ mockery of him into a gift that everyone sang along to gleefully.

5. FIA

Davido has earned his mettle as a serial hitmaker since he released his debut effort and with the global release of FIA, he cemented his status. FIA was released in 2017 and the song quickly joined the list of smash hit singles he had dropped. The song was fire just like its title and it made it to the top of every chart in the country and continent at large.

“FIA” was such a massive song that Davido got Stefflon Don on its remix.

Davido’s ‘FIA’ also made its way to the Billboard charts and peaked at the number 2 spot back in 2017.

6. D&G (feat. Summer Walker)

Davido is no stranger to collaborations and he seems to have found a way to pick the perfect ones every time.

For his album “A Good Time“, he featured American singer and songwriter Summer Walker on track 6 titled D&G (Dolce & Gabbana) sending his fans into a wild frenzy of good feelings after they listened to the song. Fan reactions are well documented on his active social media pages.

Who would have expected such a smooth synergy between the singing duo right? They absolutely killed it!

“D&G” was another song that crossed numerous boundaries. It peaked on the number 16 on the Billboard charts and is also one of Davido’s most streamed songs on Spotify with over 21 million streams.

Also, the proceeds from the video of D&G featuring Davido and Summer Walker all went into the support of Humanitas University research. Such a charitable king!

7. FEM!

This one is a personal favorite, especially because there a better song telling ‘haters to shut up’ hasn’t been made yet… and we all need the haters to shut up.

Davido’s career has been one closely monitored by fans most definitely but also his stardom comes with a plentiful sprinkling of haters and critics here and there.

He’s been referred to as a ‘talentless’ musician by many and others even insinuate that he was only able to become successful because of his father’s wealth, undermining the hard work he has invested in his career over the years to hit this crescendo.

Davido’s work ethic and innate understanding of sounds are undoubted attributes that are hard to come by but easily overlooked when they’re on full display.

“FEM!” came as the absolute track to tell his critics off even going on to become the unofficial song of the #EndSARS protests that rocked Nigeria in October 2020.

It dropped in 2020 and was on his album “A Better Time“. “FEM!” also peaked at number 8 on the Billboard charts in 2020 and was a massive track all around.

8. Holy Ground (feat. Nicki Minaj)

Davido’s 2020 album, “A Better Time”, featured the queen of rap and hip hop, Nicki Minaj, another milestone for Nigerian music and Afrobeats. Even Nicki said so herself.

The collaboration sent fans into a frenzy and for all it’s worth, lived to expectation.

“Holy Ground” also charted on Billboard and peaked on the number 2 spot.

9. Wonder Woman

A list of ten of the biggest songs by Davido cannot be done without adding ‘Wonder Woman’ to it. The single was on his 2019 album, “A Good Time”, and was a special number to every woman across the globe.

Davido gave special attention to every woman in his life and to others across the world on the track.

The video also featured a host of notable and powerful women making a difference in their strides.

10. Pere (feat. Rae Sremmund & Young Thug)

At this point, Davido should really be crowned the king of collaborations as he always finds a way to make music with international artists without compromising the uniqueness of his African sound.

In 2017, he dropped a massive collaborative joint featuring Rae Sremmund and Young Thug and it was a resounding blast.

The rappers gave the song a whole new vibe with Davido also bringing it all together with his hook.

If there’s any Nigerian artist who deserves to be celebrated for his exploits over a decade of activeness in the entertainment world, Davido has to be that artiste.

Aside from dropping some of the biggest hits, he has been extensively awarded for his efforts also.

His decade long of serving his fans and music lovers across the globe has truly been a remarkable one and we hope he can give more in the coming decade.