Sorry Guys, Wizkid Is Not the First African Artist to Sell Out London's Royal Albert Hall After All

Last Friday, Wizkid, performed a sold-out show at London's iconic Royal Albert Hall. The afrobeat heavyweight headlined an electrifying night with thousands of fans and fellow Nigerian artists Skepta and Tinie Tempah in attendance.

Following his buzzed about performance, news broke that the 27-year-old singer had become the first African artist to sell out the famed hall—his tickets sold out two days before the show—and congratulations were in order for Wiz. Fans and celebrities alike took to social media to congratulate the young star. Even the Royal Albert Hall sent out a tweet, sharing the historic news. Folks even began drawing comparisons between Wizkid and the late Fela Kuti.

Special congratulations to @wizkidayo ☝️
Wiz sold out the Royal Albert Hall
Afrobeats to the world‼️
Flying the flag high 🇳🇬. More blessings #greatnessonly #Legendary pic.twitter.com/T3GcZo0pT6
— Burna Boy (@burnaboy) October 1, 2017

Last week @wizkidayo became the first African artist to headline a sold-out show at the Hall. Watch @boilerroomtv ⬇️https://t.co/mjtkjtmvdd
— Royal Albert Hall (@RoyalAlbertHall) October 2, 2017

It appears, however, that this information, may not have been completely true. On Sunday, one knowledgable Twitter user, Mr. Aye Dee, pointed out that Wizkid is not actually the first African, or Nigerian artist for that matter, to sell out the famous hall—perhaps just the first since many of his younger fans can remember. According to Dee, Sade sold-out the auditorium back in 1993.

People, Wizkid is great, but he is neither the first African nor First Nigerian to sell out the Royal Albert Hall, Sade did so in May 1993.
— Mr. Aye Dee (@MrAyeDee) September 30, 2017

For some reason, for some of Wizkid's admirers, this realization was not sufficient enough to take the title away from him. Some on Twitter argued that Sade is considered a band, therefore, Wizkid still remained the first solo act to accomplish the feat. Others questioned whether Sade identified as a Nigerian, to which he set the record straight by pointing out that she, in fact, does and listed several other African headliners who've sold out the hall as well.

Those disowning Sade for whatever reason,South Africa's Ladysmith Black Mambazo sold out Royal Albert Hall in 1999, even recorded an Album
— Mr. Aye Dee (@MrAyeDee) October 1, 2017

If that's not enough:
Youssou N'Dour - Senegal
Baaba Maal - Senegal
Salif Keita- Mali
have also ALL sold out Royal Albert Hall
— Mr. Aye Dee (@MrAyeDee) October 1, 2017

This afternoon,The Royal Albert Hall, sent out a tweet, stating that they "may have got that wrong," and named Miriam Makeba as another sold-out solo African headliner.

Thanks to everyone who got in touch with names of other sold-out African headliners, including Miriam Makeba. We may have got that wrong.
— Royal Albert Hall (@RoyalAlbertHall) October 2, 2017

Of course, it's not as if this news takes anything away from Wizkid's success. Sure, he's not Fela Kuti—let's collectively chill with the comparisons—but his accomplishment remains rare and impressive, and only helps solidify Starboy's status as a global ambassador for afrobeats and the contemporary African music scene as a whole. We're congratulating him nonetheless.