Nigerian singer Ayra Starr has achieved a groundbreaking milestone as the first African artist to receive a Latin Diamond certification in the United States. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awarded the honor to her 2023 collaboration Santa with Jamaican producer Rvssian and Puerto Rican superstar Rauw Alejandro, recognizing over 35 million streams in the U.S. alone. The track, blending Afrobeat rhythms with reggaeton influences, underscores the growing global resonance of cross-cultural musical partnerships.
This achievement places Starr alongside compatriot Rema, whose 2022 collaboration Bubalu with Spanish duo DJ Luian and Mambo Kingz holds a Latin Platinum certification, as the only African artists to secure RIAA Latin accolades. Starr’s historic certification reflects the accelerating international demand for African artists in genres beyond their regional roots, while highlighting the RIAA’s evolving recognition of multicultural streaming trends.
Beyond its U.S. success, Santa has dominated charts across Latin America and Europe. It achieved multi-Platinum status in Mexico and Spain, where it topped the national singles chart. The song also peaked at No. 2 in Colombia, Ecuador, and Central America, cementing its appeal in Spanish-speaking markets. Industry analysts note the track’s success aligns with a surge in Afrobeats-Latin fusions, driven by streaming platforms and younger audiences embracing genre-blurring sounds.
Starr, 21, rose to prominence in 2021 with her self-titled debut EP, which blended soulful vocals with Yoruba lyricism. Her collaboration with Rauw Alejandro—a key figure in reggaeton’s global expansion—signals a strategic bridge between Afrobeats and Latin pop, two of the world’s fastest-growing music genres. Meanwhile, Rema’s Bubalu has amassed over 600 million Spotify streams, underscoring the commercial viability of such cross-continental partnerships.
The RIAA’s Latin Diamond certification, introduced in 2020, requires a track to surpass 30 million U.S. streams, with Latin eligibility determined by language, genre, or cultural resonance. Starr’s recognition follows recent RIAA reforms to better account for streaming’s dominance in music consumption, particularly for international acts.
As African artists increasingly collaborate with Latin and global counterparts, this milestone marks a pivotal shift in how streaming success translates to institutional recognition. With Afrobeacts now accounting for 2.1 billion global streams monthly, per Spotify data, Starr’s achievement amplifies calls for mainstream award shows and certification bodies to further adapt their criteria to reflect borderless listenership. For now, the Nigerian star’s Latin Diamond plaque stands as a testament to music’s power to transcend geographic and linguistic divides.
