Burna Boy is the First African Artist to Sell Out London Stadium
The Nigerian superstar became the first African artist to sell out London’s 80,000-capacity stadium, during his June 3rd performance. The U.S. is next, where he'll be the first African artist to headline a stadium, at New York's Citi Field.
Africa’s Giant is showing no signs of slowing down on his mission to dominate stages across the globe. This weekend, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Burna Boy became the first African artist to sell out the U.K.’s London Stadium – the city’s 80,000-capacity multi-purpose arena. “I told them I’m a genius”, the singer said as he made the incredible feat with no warm-up acts and continues to take his Love, Damini tour beyond his wildest dreams.
The three-hour show seemed to be an event to remember. A fan-posted video showed the singer’s reaction to the massive crowd singing his hit single "It’s Plenty" back to him. The 60,000-strong audience joined Burna in celebrating how far African music, more specifically Afrobeats, has soared in the last few years. Offering a delicious career-spanning collection of hits, the singer and the crowd were in agreement on how much energy was needed to truly appreciate the moment. Burna’s latest accomplishment has seemingly become his modus operandi as he’s previously sold out London’s Wembley and O2 Arenas, and earlier this year he set himself up to be the first African artist to headline a U.S. Stadium.
London Stadium took to their official Twitter account to announce the singer’s historic occasion saying, “NOW SOLD OUT @burnaboy’s RECORD-BREAKING concert has now officially SOLD OUT. What an incredible achievement for the first-ever African artist to solo headline a U.K. stadium. For those lucky enough to make it, enjoy the show.” The star replied, in a now edited Tweet, “I told them I’m a genius.” However, sweet words still made available to his Twitter fans read, “Believe. Sold Out Business. Thank you, London and love to everyone that supported me in making history. Till the next one.”
Burna brought out a host of fellow global hitmakers to make the most of his and the fans’ experience. The singer brought out British rappers Stormzy, and Jhus to perform ‘Real Life’ with the former, and Jamaican artist Popcaan got his chance to deliver a stellar performance of their collab ‘Aboboyaa’ with the man of the evening. Burna was also sure to pay tributes to his former collaborator, the late Indian rapper ‘Sidhu Moose Wala’ as he gave a heartwarming rendition of their single ‘Mera Na’, which was released after the artist’s passing.
London Stadium did its due diligence in awarding the singer with a prestigious plaque, solidifying his amazing accomplishment and the indescribable success Burna Boy has created for himself.
Fans took to social media to help celebrate the artist’s achievement:
- Burna Boy Talks 'African Giant,' Performs 'Ye' & 'Anybody' on 'The Daily Show With Trevor Noah' ›
- Watch: Burna Boy Chats To Trevor Noah About Being The First Nigerian To Sell Out MSG ›
- Burna Boy on His New Album: ‘It's not really my comfort zone to be in one place’ ›
- Listen to Burna Boy’s New Album, ‘I Told Them…’ - Okayplayer ›
- Burna Boy Seeks Validation On ‘I Told Them...’ - Okayplayer ›