American entertainment magazine Billboard has faced backlash online after referring to Nigerian superstar Rema as a “one-hit wonder.”
This came after the magazine posted a story on February 16, 2026, re-sharing a June 2025 chart story that ranked Rema at number six on its list of the “25 Biggest One-Hit Wonders of the 21st Century.” This was in relation to his international hit song “Calm Down,” which featured Selena Gomez.
In its reasoning, the magazine stated that Rema had failed to return to the Billboard Hot 100 after the success of “Calm Down,” although he had earned six top-10 songs on the U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart as of June 7, 2025.
The label has faced immense backlash from fans and critics alike, who claimed that the label did not take into consideration Rema’s overall success and influence in the music industry, especially in the global expansion of Afrobeats.
