Tyla’s Spotify Numbers Spark SA-Nigeria Debate as Lagos Beats Johannesburg in Listener Rankings
- X user @carterdalast called out South African fans after Spotify data revealed Lagos ranks 2nd among Tyla's top listening cities globally
- The data surfaced days after Tyla dropped her Lagos concert date following threats from Nigerians over her silence on xenophobic attacks in South Africa
- South Africa's Johannesburg appeared at number 9 on the list, reigniting a heated online debate between Nigerian and South African fans
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Fresh drama has erupted online after Spotify listener data showed that Lagos is Tyla's second-biggest city for streams worldwide, while Johannesburg only crept in at number nine, and South Africa failed to place a single city in the top five.
The stats were shared by verified X account @WETALKSTATS on Wednesday, 12 August 2026, revealing Tyla's top 50 cities by monthly listeners. London led the list with 478,930 streams, followed closely by Lagos at 413,057. São Paulo, Sydney, and New York City rounded out the top five. Johannesburg eventually appeared at position nine with 207,592 listeners, making it the sole South African city on the list.
X user @carterdalast wasted no time pointing out the irony, writing:
"Nigeria is Tyla's second biggest listeners on Spotify and South Africa is nowhere to be found in top 5 but her 3 fans swore she doesn't need Nigerians. Oh ok."
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The timing of this debate is impossible to ignore. Just days earlier, Tyla scrapped her Lagos concert from an upcoming tour after Nigerians threatened to harm her if she entered the country. The anger stemmed from the Grammy winner's perceived silence during a wave of anti-illegal immigration marches targeting foreign nationals in South Africa. The fallout left fans on both sides deeply divided, and the Spotify data has only poured fuel on the fire.
Tyla holds a Spotify popularity rating of 81 out of 100, with over 5.2 million followers on the platform and a global ranking of 223. Her listeners span 24 countries across the top 50 cities alone, making her reach undeniably international.
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Peeps react as Nigeria tops Tyla's listeners
The post drew a wave of responses from both camps. Some South Africans pushed back on how the numbers were framed, while Nigerians were quick to take a victory lap.
@Skinnybo3 fired back:
"South Africa is 5 times less the population of Nigeria. It obviously won't appear. We're a small nation in a small country; that's why we want y'all gone. It's crowded."
@ArnoldWorld22 added:
"You like to put y'allselves on high horses while it literally says cities, not overall listeners."
@SGN71783388 offered a different angle:
"We didn't say she doesn't need Nigeria. It was her actions, which said she doesn't need Nigeria."
@starboysam_ kept it straightforward:
"The gag is ya'll claim to hate her, but ya'll still stream her, and also she's an international artist; she's not only pushed by South Africans."
@NRegular13 was blunter:
"They're good at dragging her except streaming her music... looking for what to brag with against Nigerian's."
@zanien619351 suggested the streams themselves were not a sign of support:
"They listen to hate not because they are supporters, mind you."
Tyla to receive 2 South African Music Awards
Tyla’s growing global influence will also be celebrated at the 32nd South African Music Awards on 15 August 2026 at Sun City Superbowl, where she is set to receive a prestigious SAMA honour, as reported by Briefly News.
The recognition will make her only the second artist after Black Coffee to receive the honour twice, further highlighting the rising impact of South African music on the global stage.
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Source: Briefly News
